Blog #5

A 2.0 technology I find useful in the classroom is Twitter. I think the use of social media in the classroom can be difficult for the teacher to manage, especially if she is dealing with younger students. I think for social media technologies to work in the classroom, the students must be at an appropriate age— I would recommend high school level and above. Twitter is a great source for current events and trending news. Twitter is also a good tool to communicate ideas and information in a more compressed and quick way. Students would need a computer or a mobile device with internet connection to participate in this type of assignment. For younger students, such as elementary and middle school levels, I would recommend the use of blogs. The 2.0 technology of blogs can be extremely useful because it allows students much creative freedom, while still practicing writing and communication skills. There are classroom friendly blogs that teachers can easily access, and I believe this will be a great tool to use in the classroom and will also motivate students to write. Students would need a computer or tablet to participate in this type of assignment. I also think video projects are fun for the students, especially when the teacher projects the video for the rest of the classmates to enjoy. I think middle school and up can participate in this type of activity, depending on how easy the video editing technology can be. Making the videos will help the students remember the content through experience. An iPad can be used to make the videos and edit them on the iMovie app. A smart board and projector would be needed for this in order to share the videos with the class. 

I think I may use Quizlet when teaching. It is a website that allows you to make flashcards and study guides when studying, and is especially useful for vocabulary and concept terms. What I like about Quizlet is that once you type up all the terms and definitions, you have a few options to review the content. You can review the terms by playing a game called gravity in which the definition is falling and you have to type the term to win. There is also a feature called scatter in which the words and definitions are scattered around the page and you have to match the term with the right definition, or vice versa. There is a speller feature that through audio reads the word out-loud and you have to type it accurately to test spelling of the terms. There is also a test option that provides a mock test consisting of fill-in-the-blank, matching, and multiple choice. 

Quizlet is great because it allows students many different ways to review and study the vocabulary terms. It can useful for many different types of learners and aid you in the specific part that you need help in, whether it be spelling or memorizing definitions. As a teacher, I can project Quizlet on the board and the class can play the game or review the concepts together. I can even use this time to split the class into groups and make a competition out of it as a way to motivate the students to participate. There are many beneficial tools in Quizlet; what helps me a lot when I am studying is that Quizlet tells can tell me which terms I have been struggling with in the games and practices. Through this feature it is easier to recognize what you need more help and review on. Here is the link to this 2.0 tool: https://quizlet.com 

I tried my best to bring out my creative side with this project. I wanted to make the concept map aesthetically pleasing so it would not be as boring for the students to study it. This assignment did take some time to make and organize. It made me realize how much time teachers spend on making study guides, which is only one document out of the many more teachers have to work on. Being a teacher is time consuming, and this goes to show that the work does not end when class does. Teachers have homework too and it’s not quick and easy. Here is my concept map: