Web 2.0 Applications for K-12 Settings

WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN THE CLASSROOM 

Exploring Web 2.0 Tools for Use in K-12 Settings

By Hailey 

Tagxedo is an online word-cloud generator that creates colourful images out of text. 

• Tagxedo can be used in activities for both primary and secondary students. 
  
  
• At the primary level, students can use Tagxedo to create vibrant, visually interesting concrete poems by selecting a shape and providing words that describe their shape.
  
  
• The example above is concrete poem created by providing Tagxedo with words that describe flowers.  

• At the secondary level, students can use Tagxedo as a tool to analyze texts.
  
  
• For example, 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo suggests activities such as using Tagxedo to summarize a presentation. Tagxedo keeps track of the frequency with which certain words are used, and words that are used a lot show up larger than other words, easily communicating the key ideas of a text.
  
  
• This feature can also offer a unique way to improve student writing, by drawing attention to overused words, or by visually comparing student writing and the writing of published authors or successful speakers. 

Little Bird Tales allows students to create their own stories, by either drawing or uploading their own images, and then narrating their stories using their own voice. 

Little Bird Tales in the Classroom:  

• Little Bird Tales could be used to create stories either individually or as a class. 
   
• This Web 2.0 tool could reduce barries for students who have difficulty with writing or other fine motor skills. The audio narration feature would allow students to tell their stories without having to write them out by hand, and the website also allows for the use of photographs for illustration, which means that students who struggle with their fine motor skills have alternative ways of visually communicating. 

• Little Bird Tales can also be used to create presentations in a way that perhaps appeals more to students in upper elementary school or even junior high. The Edublogs Teacher Challgenges webpage suggests using Little Bird Tales to present a science experiment using photographs of the experiment accompanied by student narration. 

• The Little Bird Tales Terms of Service states that the app "...is intended to be used by students 4-13 years of age and their parents." Teachers can also create a teacher account.

Glogster is a Web 2.0 tool that allows students to create interactive, online media posters that inlcude text, video, audio, photos, and other images and digital media. 

Glogster can be used for free, but some features are only available for a paid/premuim version. There is a feature in which teachers can purchase a premium version for their classroom.