Web+2.0

Web 2.0 is a valuable source for instructors to interact with their students outside of the classroom. There are so many options available today; there is no excuse for a teacher not to use one of these tools. The list of current Web 2.0 offerings is so lengthy, I’ve decided to focus on my handful of favorites to share and describe. All five of these and more can be used by teachers. The choice of which to use is up to the individual and the subject. The following are the five which work best for me.  ** Quizlet.com **is a great site for all subjects, especially language teachers. As a teacher, I would use the option of creating flashcards which students could upload and study during their own time. Through this site, I could also communicate when there is new material for them to study. One of the most exciting options is the ability to create groups, so that students can work with each other to learn Spanish.  Creating an account is very easy and free. Once the account exists, I can immediately create flashcards that relate to the lesson and either offer a link for students to access or print them up in the classroom. Printing them is of great value so that students can begin working on them with each other before they go home and work online. This is a website that I definitely plan on using in the classroom.  Another great site is ** pbworks.com **. Pbworks is a collaborative website that encourages interaction between the students and the teacher. I would use this site to create a class page that students could use to “teach” each other Spanish. As the teacher, I would have the ability to make corrections to any posts and also see who posted it. While students tend to avoid participation in the classroom, they would be more willing to make these teaching posts where they are less likely to feel embarrassment at any wrong answer. Their own posts can be anonymous, but I could see weaknesses in learning and offer support in the classroom without singling out any single student.  Like all other Web 2.0 sites, this one is also easy to use and free. There are upgrade options, but the free option works just as well for the average teacher. Everything done to the pages has a record and students can easily use this while at school or anywhere else they can find internet access. Depending on the personality of the class, this might be a preferred website for me to use as well.  ** Ustreamtv.com **is a website that can be used alongside the others while in the classroom. With ustreamtv.com, I could find another teacher in a Spanish-speaking country whose class would be willing to live stream with my own. This would be so valuable to the students because they could have actual interaction with native Spanish-speakers. This could also benefit the students in the other classroom because they might be learning English in their own classroom. This interaction with other students from other parts of the world opens the world up to them, so that they can see that the world is much bigger than the classroom or the school.  Ustreamtv.com also brings to focus the fact that there is a purpose for learning another language. A question often asked in the classrooms is, “When am I going to use this in real life?” With ustreamtv.com, the answer is right in front of them. Then will discover that in order to be able to better communicate with people around the world, it is necessary to take those first steps in language learning. Best of all, they might find a friend that they can keep in touch with, making school a much more pleasant place.  This list wouldn’t be complete without mention of ** Google **and all it has to offer. The Web 2.0 suggestion I would have for teachers is that of Google docs. Not all students have access to Windows at home or at public libraries, but with Google docs Windows isn’t necessary. Google docs has most of the same options for students to turn in well-written essays, without the price. The other benefit is that the documents are stored online, so that when a student can access his or her paper from any available computer with internet. This facilitates movement from one library to the next or even working from friends’ and relatives homes. Along with this application, I would highly suggest using ** xpad.com **. Because schools tend to use Mac computers, those students who aren’t used to pc might have a problem with Google docs, since it is so similar to Windows. Xpad.com is based on Mac and users can easily flow into that system without having to learn everything anew. Of course for writing there are many websites that you can share your information and find help with editing. Technology brings people together much more than is commonly thought because even writing, which was once a lone task, is shared with friends and strangers alike.  As long as there is an eye for safety, which is what I think is my responsibility, as a teacher, interactive websites can be a boon to the classroom. I look forward to using and recommending these sites and many others to my students, and of course they will probably have several to recommend to me.