K-12 Using Web 2.0 Tools

Bridging History Using Web 2.0 Tools: December 2009

The more technology videos I watch, the more I feel out of of touch with the technology of today. I thought I was pretty technologically savvy, but I keep finding things I know nothing about. One of those things is a free site called Glogster.

In the web cast, Bridging History, two teachers discuss the many uses for technology throughout their lessons. Glogster is a free web tool these teachers use to help their students gain higher order thinking skills and interact with history. Glogster is used to create graphic blogs. The pages you create can contain video and look like a well put together collage of information.

Glogster seems like an extremely useful tool to use for projects, virtual museums and webquests. The best part is teachers can get up to 200 free accounts!

What can we gain through collaboration

Collaboration allows us to become better teachers. By collaborating:

• We show students what working together looks like.
• We build a sense of community within the school.
• We gain new ideas.
• We get a different perspective.
• We become better listeners.

Engaging Our Youngest Minds

Sometimes amidst the day-to-day hustle and bustle of trying to get everything accomplished in our school day, we forget who is supposed to drive our instruction: The students. Today I watched a web cast video from www.K12onlineconference.org that reminded me of just that.

The video was called, Engaging Our Youngest Minds, by Angela Maiers. Angela tells of a preschooler she meets that is so passionate about her cause that she becomes a researcher and little activist.

Through her discussion, Angela reminded me that our students are already passionate about the world around them and that in order to engage our students, we need to teach to their already developing interests. She urges that we use technology to help foster the students' interests and connect them to the 21st century.

The web cast was only 11 minutes long, but in that short time it reminded me what is important in teaching: Developing student interest and fueling their passion for learning.

Essential Question

Why should we integrate technology into lessons?

Technology should be integrated into lessons for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is that technology is impacts so many aspects of our lives. Children need to know how to best use this technology to assist them in their everyday tasks and to prepare them for life.

Another reason to integrate technology into lessons is to meet different students' learning styles. Some students need technology to help them complete tasks ; Others are more inclined to get involved with a lesson if it includes technology.

Essential Question