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Module 7
Web 2.0 Tool Research

Assignment: 
1.  Locate two Web 2.0 tools 

      a. One Social collaboration tools (ex: a Wiki, or a Blog) and

      b. One Social Bookmarking tool

2. List and explain 3 example scenarios where you can integrate the chosen web
    2.0 tool.  

Social Bookmarking Tool:  I  selected http://del.icio.us/ as a social bookmarking tool.  This tool allows me to store my bookmarks and retrieve them by keyword so that I can easily find resources on the web relevant to a particular subject.  The greatest  advantage of this social bookmarking tool is that I can share my bookmarks with others who use this tool, and vice versa, exponentially increasing the number of resources available to me on a particular subject.  This tool can be used in a variety of scenarios.   On my eportfolio (teacher’s web page), I would add a link to my bookmarks and the bookmarks that others have shared on the same subject.  I could also use these bookmarks in a Webquest to create additional resources for students to use. I did add a link in the webquest I created last week, to the ReadWriteThink.org elementary writing software tools in my webquest, so the students could link to online software that allowed them to create postcards,  timelines, and letters, among other things.  If I decided to participate in a web ring for elementary education, all the members could use this book marking tool as well as web site, to share their favorite bookmarks with teach other via Delicious.   Finally, it would be a great collaborative research tool for a group of students or teachers who are researching a particular subject.  It would greatly reduce the amount of time each one spent locating resources.  The team members could then identify what piece they would focus on documenting, but could all use each other’s web resources via the bookmarks. 

Social Collaboration:  I researched social collaboration tools and selected www.WordPress.com for a blogging software (http://stallcop.wordpress.com/).   This software provides several nice graphic interfaces and formats so that it can provide the appearance of either a research document, a newsletter, a newspaper, etc.    It also allows you to categorize your entries and add pictures, video, and other graphics, as needed.  I could use this blog to create lesson plans and activities and solicit other teachers/peers’ advice and comments before finalizing them.  I could use it as a reliable file and listing of all of the important resources that I need as a teacher, and through the use of comments, obtain additional related documents, articles, or other web resources that would be useful for this same purpose.   Finally, I would use this blog as a place to interact with my peers about best practices in teaching the grade(s) we teach, teaching trends, teaching innovations (both technological and otherwise), and other insights that would be

http://dsc.discovery.com/

Here is a link to the Thinkfinity search engine, which allows a teacher to look for lesson plan ideas on the web:  http://thinkfinity.org/PartnerSearch.aspx?orgn_id=9 

Illuminations Lessons and Activities (Free):  http://illuminations.nctm.org/ 

Curriculum Resources (for members):  http://nctm.org/resources/elementary.aspx

Read/Write/Think is an excellent site for lesson plans as well as finding online tools that students can use to do schoolwork: 

Here is the link to their
lessons:    http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/index.asp 

Here is the link to the STUDENT TOOLS:  http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp