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.