Web 2.0 Education Application
What Web 2.o application should I review? Wkis, blogs and Twitter have been discussed, reviewed, and used. What does it say about us when these 2.0 applications have become part of the mainstream? So mainstream that e-mail is now viewed as “old school.”
To find an application, I googled “Web 2.0 education.” (Oh, no, Google is now a verb in the English language.) This search led me to http://hubpages.com/hub/Education20. Here I found a link to a blog, Web 2.0 Teaching Tools. This blog mentioned Classtools.net, so, why not.
Classtools was developed by Russel Tarr, a college professor in France. This “free” website houses almost 20 interactive templates for use by teachers. What follows in a quick review of a few of the templates.
Arcade Game Generator requires the teacher to write at least ten questions and answers. These questions and answers can be turned into a number of different “games.” One is a Concentration-like matching game called Matching Pairs. Another game is Manic Miner, in which arcade-like miners try to match questions and answers before they lose their time or lives.
Ever need a countdown timer? This site has one in which the teacher types in the time and the clock does it all. The time can be any time up to ninety-nine minutes and fifty nine seconds. A number of sounds can be added to make the countdown a little more exciting.
With “Post It,” students identify factors that help answer a specific question and write them on sticky notes. Then, collaboratively, more general categories about the question and factors are determined. The students then move the notes to the category in which they fit. This is a nice change of pace from using sticky notes on chart paper.
Venn Diagrams give the option of a two or three circle Venn diagram. Students would then fill in the diagram in the same way that they would fill ion paper diagrams.
Virtual Book allows students to create a four page book. The text is typed into the book, which can be saved as a web page, or embedded into a blog or web page. The length limits the use of Virtual Book but for younger students, this is another way that their work can be displayed.
Check out the other templates which include a fishbone diagrams, hamburger diagrams and a host of other web-based graphic organizers.
This site and the templates will not replace Twitter or Facebook in popularity, but it does offer a few cool tools for teachers to create and students to use.