One Web 2.0 technology is www.bubbl.us which can be used to generate concept maps. Below is the concept map I will use to demonstrate the interconnectedness of all life.
Another Web 2.0 resource is available from anamito.com. On this website video clips of 30 seconds or less may be produced. The process is simple. You can use pictures from the website or upload your own photos. I very easily uploaded some pictures I had taken while vacationing in Monterey, CA this past summer to make my video which you can view below. I plan on using this video to introduce the the diversity of life discussion I will have with my class as I introduce the taxonomy lesson in my Biology class this January.
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
The animato website was very easy to use. I think students could make their own video's easily. I plan on asking them to make a video using eight pictures which they take of various life forms during the classification section of biology.
Another example of a Web 2.0 resource which is easy to use and will catch the eye of students is glogster.com. Glogster, which is a completely new take on the classroom bulletin board or poster. Your glogster poster can have traditional text but much more. You can embed video clips and URL links. The animated graphics also help teachers draw attention to content by using the proverbial "bells and whistles.".
I found glogster easy to use, although embeding the video took some time, primarily because the tutorial video I viewed was not based on the current website's design.
The ability to construct computer games with content which you provide is also available from classtools.net. I have discovered that many student's will work hard to compete in a game who seldom study for exams. This Web 2.0 resource allows teachers to input their own content into various game formats for teachers to use to build games with which to challenge their students.
You can also use your own content and help students study and improve their quiz scores on this website as well utilizing flash cards.
I found each of the Web 2.0 resources rather easy to use, after taking time to familiarize myself with each website. I will utilize them in the future to transfer some of my class lecture content into formats that I will include on my class's website. I will also give my student's assignments to complete using these Web 2.0 resources, especially glogster, for various units in our curriculum. I recommend these resources to other classroom teachers.
Other Web 2.0 resources which teachers may find helpful include:
- VoiceThread http://voicethread.com/
- Tikatok http://www.tikatok.com/
- Google Lit trips http://www.googlelittrips.org/
- Big Huge Labs http://bighugelabs.com/
- Blabberize http://blabberize.com/
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