WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN THE CLASSROOM






Prezi is a very valuble web 2.0 tool that can be used as a virtual whiteboard in an education setting. It is a great way to enable collaboration and sharing in the classroom! 

Used in Education - Prezi allows both teachers and students to collaborte on presentations, projects and classroom sessions. More then just one student can be working on the project at a time in any location. It also allows for teachers to present their lessons and for students to consruct their knowledge in different learning styles. 

Remove Barriers - Prezi is able to remove location barriers. This provide students with the opportunity to work in groups on an assignment without having the inconvenience of everyone having to meet on the same schedule. 

Under the Terms of Use area it states that individuals must be over the age of 13 to use this program.


Urlist is fun and exciting Web 2.0 tool that is used for online scavenger hunts. By copy and pasting sites, you can leave comments and instructions for each site!

Education Purpose - This is a great way to transform a class lecture into a hands on learning enviornment. For example in a social studies junior high class a teacher could easily make a scavenger hunt to learn about the fur trade. By giving students instructions and questions on what site to look next this could be a fun way for them to navigate through site learning about key peoeple, the passage ways, goods and much more.

Reducing Barriers - In terms of reducing barriers, students who have difficulty focusing and paying attention on class may find this very helpful. Instead of having to just sit and listen students are responsible for their own learning in an interactive way. They may view the online scavenger hunt as a game and be more interested in the content presented for them to learn. 

From the terms and use of urlist the user must be 13 in order to use it. This is because the user is required to have either a facebook, twitter or google account which all require the user to be 13 years of age. 





Voki is another web 2.0 tool that allows for the creation of speaking avatars to be used as a learning tool and effectively engage students. There is a also a classroom component that allows for collaboration of the students. 

 

Education Purpose - This could be used in a language arts class as an assignment to get students to express themselves. Instead of having students just write a short story or poem they can read it through the avatar. This way they can share their ideas through the voice of the avatar and may be more excited to do this rather then just write a short story on paper and hand it in.

Reducing Barriers - Using Voki could reduce barriers for learners as it gives students the opportunity to be heard without having to be seen. In some settings it can give shy students who don't like to participate in class, the opportunity to present their ideas through a virtual mask. This could be a starting point for many students to gain confidence in public speaking or even just participating in the classroom. 

This web 2.0 tool does not have any age restrictions according to the Terms and Conditions of Use