EDU 210: Web 2.0 Tools for Learning
SKYPE
http://www.skype.com/en/
Skype allows for audio and visual calls between two devices that have the program, which can be downloaded for free. This tool could be used in Secondary Education to include students that are away from school for the day, either home sick or a family vacation, or on a sports tournament, or a music trip. Having the ability to Skype into a lesson at school could allow for students to remain caught up with their studies. Skype is useful for auditory learners in particular, and provided there is a strong internet connection visual learners too. The problem with Skype is occasional lag between video and audio.
GOOGLE DOCS/DRIVE
https://drive.google.com/
Google Docs/Drive allows for individuals to save various documents to this online drive, which allows for them to be accessed on any computer. Google Docs/Drive also allows for collaboration from anyone else with a Google account. This could be used in school for students to work on group projects from home, or in their own time in case they are unavailable to meet with their partners. It also allows for the teacher to be added to the document and provide feedback as it grows. This helps visual learners, as well as those that are shy and perhaps do not thrive as well in social settings. They still contribute to the group project, but in a lower pressure setting.
WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikipedia is a collaborative encyclopedia that is created and added to by people world wide. For educational purposes, Wikipedia is a good starting point for students to begin exploring a topic of study. Because of it's collaborative nature though, it is not a major resource for study. For struggling learners, Wikipedia has a 'Simple English' language option to condense information for readers so that the volume of text is not so overwhelming.