5- Web 2.0

      I feel that the majority of Web 2.0 tools can be of use in a teaching setting. Presentation tools are used all the time by teachers to relay information, such as PowerPoint and Prezzi. Video Tools are useful with teaching because they posses content that professionals can explain better than some teachers. Videos for science and history classes were professionals that have studied the topic for years are shown are ideal to teachers. These videos can be found on places like YouTube I find that tools that are used with mobile devices may cause a hindrance in the classroom, because giving a student free range with their phone can cause very easy distractions. The podcast mentions the use of classroom blogs that can be useful for students to view the assignments for the week and any teacher announcements. The computer equipment you need is a monitor, a mouse, and a keyboard. Network equipment you need is server, storage and Wifi. The periphery equipment needed would be things like speakers, projectors, whiteboards, and microphones.

      A Web 2.0 tool that I feel could be useful in a classroom setting is https://www.polleverywhere.com/. This website provides a mobile app service in which teachers can poll the students on whatever topic they are talking about. This can range from asking an opinionated question to a fact based one. Something like "What color is the sky" and students can choose from the answers provided by the teacher. Its like a multiple choice question app that can be used to write a new question on the spot.

     Although this is a mobile app and I feel that the use of mobile apps creates a distraction for the students through the ease of access to a phone, I feel this app can still be of use. Having the students answer and putting there phones away immediately can still have an effective use. The app can also be used in tandem with other Web 2.0 tools. Such as if a professor was Skyped in to teach the class, he could utilize the app to test the students throughout the presentation. All in all I see this as a very valuable application.

     From the Webspiration assignment, I have learned how to create concept maps more effectively. I can see how these maps can be used as a good teaching tool when made correctly. If the concept map flows correctly it can show the main concepts of the lesson. I guess that explain the name "concept map." It can also be used to create a timeline of events which would be useful for history teachers, which will be useful to me since that is the profession I am aiming for. One thing I could probably fix for my map is shortening the phrases in my bubbles, it makes the map look cluttered a bit.
 I have yet to fully finish the assignment so no image is provided at the time of class.

4- The Web Hunt and You

     The CPalms standard that I will be using is SS.8.A.2: Examine the causes, course and consequences of British settlement in the American colonies. The website the resource that the students could use to understand this standard is http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa80 . This type of resource can be classified as a reference software tool. I would use this tool as a virtual encyclopedia. The information needed by the standard can be found by reading the reference software. This website provides a great starting point for the standard, further research can be done on the topics it provides. I would begin my research on this website then proceed to research the topics more thoroughly.


     In the past the way that I would search for research information would be by typing out extremely long sentences, until I felt I got every detail I could into the search bar of Google. Kind of like that sentence right there. I would then hope the first link would work out, and if it didn't I would redo my entire search. I would then only use that one link as my source, combined with little facts from other sites. Compared to the methods mentioned in the podcast, I would say my way of researching in the past is closely related to open content. I use the encyclopedias of information available on the internet to help with the research I require.


     From the Web Hunt assignment, I was able to discover different ways in order to accurately search for my desired topic. By cutting out small, filler words such as "the" and "of" The topic would become much broader giving me more options to choose from. I was surprised, after reading the PowerPoint about advanced google searches, about how many things I didn't know about Google's search system. For instance that Google reads everything typed in as lower case, capitalizing doesn't even matter to Google! Google also doesn't require the use of "and" because no results will not show if they don't possess your key terms. Google is really the only time that you can ignore grammar and still find what you need!

Question	1. Answer 2. Which ELA anchor standard are you addressing? (except where included)	Search Strategy (e.g. searched Google using search string "green dog")	URL where you found the answer (copy and paste from browser)
1. You would like to teach your class about rainbows and how they are formed. Can you find a video that shows how this is done?
2. Your students are learning about different cultures in Europe. Can you find an image that illustrates the culture of Italy?