Thing #13

We have arrived at the very last Thing!  First of all, let me congratulate each of you on making it this far.  Even if you did not complete any of the Things, just the fact that you are reading this post tells me you are interested in learning something new and are interested in what the Web 2.0 world is all about.  I have really enjoyed reading your blogs and hearing about how some of you have incorporated some of these new Web 2.0 tools into your teaching.  Thanks to all of you for your participation, at whatever level you chose to participate!

For this final Thing, I'd like you to summarize your experience with our Web 2.0 journey.  I said at the very beginning that I was not the expert, just the facilitator, and I still feel that way.  I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about the whole project!  Here are some questions to direct your thoughts.

• What were your favorite discoveries or tools during this Web 2.0 journey?
• How has this program assisted or affected your life-long learning goals?
• Were there any outcomes of the experience that surprised you?
• What could be done differently to improve upon this program's format or concept?
• If another Web 2.0 program was offered in the future, would you encourage your colleagues to participate?  What would you tell them?
• If you were asked to describe this experience in one sentence, what would you say?

To complete Thing #13 (and therefore the program!), with Thing #13 as your subject or heading, write a paragraph or so about your impressions of the program.  You can use the questions above to guide you, or go in another direction as you feel led.  (And if any of you are reading this post and do not have a blog, I'd still be glad to hear your impressions.  Feel free to send me an email with your reflection!)

Before we end, I want to give credit to two other programs I used extensively as inspiration for this one.  The California School Library Association's Classroom 2.0 program and Riverside Brookfield High School's (in IL) 17 Things to Chew On program (led by librarian Alicia Duell) were a great help to me as I developed posts each week. 

Remember that in order to receive your flash drive as recognition for finishing the program, ALL THINGS must be completed by Friday, May 14th.  I will also print off our idea sheet on that day and make hard copies for each of you to have as future reference, so if you have any final ideas about how these tools can be used please add them by then.

Even though this is the official end of our Web 2.0 experience, I hope it is not the end for you!  I encourage you to continue exploring in whatever way you're comfortable.  I can't wait to see what great new things you try with your students!

Thing #12

This week's Thing is an extension of what we did last week, looking at a variety of Web 2.0 tools.  Like I said in the last post, there are SO many Web 2.0 tools out there.  Some are more popular than others; I hope I have selected some of the more popular education-related ones for our Web 2.0 experiment, but I'm sure there are some great ones I missed.  This week, take a look at a couple of sites that list Web 2.0 winners and select one more site you'd like to explore further.  As you complete this Thing, I'll edit this post to add your blog post here so we can all experiment with the tools you investigate.

CNET's 2009 Webware 100 winners
Web 2.0 Award Winners
Educational Web 2.0 Tools

To complete Thing #12, browse through the lists above and choose one Web 2.0 tool you'd like to explore further (it should be one with which you're not already familiar).  Then take a look at that tool--create an account if necessary, read/watch the tool's tutorial, try out different functions of the tool, look at other examples, etc.  The tool you choose does not necessarily need to be for classroom use, although our primary focus continues to be educational.  Then, with Thing #12 as your subject or heading, post about the tool you chose.  Describe the tool--what does it do and how does it work?  What did you like or dislike about it?  What use, if any, do you see this tool having in a classroom environment?

Edited to add your blog posts...
Thoughts From the Classroom (Miss Wainman)
Read and Write, Too! (Mrs. Marsaglia)
Second Grade Snapshot (Miss Jackson)
Pretzel Teacher (Mrs. Usherwood)
Nan99s Blog (Mrs. Neubauer)