Web 2.0 Tools

          Web 2.0 tools can be so beneficial to a classroom when integrated effectively. Effective is the key to making technology in a classroom work. Web 2.0 tools are great resources in the classroom but are not the end all to education. As I sit writing this blog I look at the other classes I have taken and the information that I have gathered from them and I am cautious of the fact that integrating technology is not the primary goal but making education more interactive and with real world experiences the priority. There are so many creative ways of bringing in 2.0 tools into the classroom. There are times when I am talking to students about the classes they are taking and the students have actually complained about the amount of technology they are using in the classroom. There has to be a balance between technology and no technology. At times we as teachers will force technology to fit into the lesson we are trying to teach and this damages the educational process and the ability to learn by the students. That is not to say that there are not great uses of web 2.0 tools. 

My district is going to a Google Platform next year which means that we will be doing a lot with Google Classroom. I am excited by this because it provides us with the capability of linking our students to different aspects of the classroom that they may not have accessed easily before. Many students that I work with in my classroom are ADD or ADHD to the point where they will not remember what I said at the beginning of class. Google Classroom allows teachers to add assignments to their classroom. Students could then link their google account to the classroom calendars and have their phone or other technology automatically have the assignments whether homework or long term assignments. This could aide students in their organization skills by showing them how to organize the information. In this instance the technology is aiding the students and that is an important aspect of incorporating technology.