Blog Post Number 6

Web 2.0 technologies are a concept that makes up our future. The concepts of social networking and communication with others through the use of technology are most likely the future of technology itself. Therefore, the transfer of this concept to K-12 education technology is most likely inevitable. These students will be using this Web 2.0 technology in their daily lives outside of school, therefore when they enter the classroom and start using technology, their mindset is going to be set for the Web 2.0. Utilizing this and channeling it through educational purposes will be beneficial for the students in that they will be able to transfer into “education mode” more quickly in the classroom.

I touched on Wikipedia in my last post. I believe that Wikipedia is a positive learning resource. Wikipedia can be a GREAT starting point. In fact, I just used Wikipedia. Of course, I did not use a Wikipedia page to write an entire paper using just that page. However, while studying, I came across a concept I was not immediately familiar with and used Wikipedia to give me a base of knowledge on the subject. This is just the purpose I believe Wikipedia is great for, and the purpose it should be used for in a learning context. Everything you read there must be taken with a grain of salt and scrutinized using the resources at the bottom, however, most of the time basic information on Wikipedia is accurate and useful.

This past week I learned so much about Powerpoint that I never knew, I was simply amazed. I feel that the new Powerpoint is infinitely more user friendly than the former version that I have on my laptop, and I definitely plan to utilize the new version when teaching. Powerpoint is perhaps my favorite educational tool and I believe that it will be more than essential in almost every class that I teach, used to display information and lectures in an aesthetically pleasing and instantly more interesting manner designed to hold students' attention and keep everyone on track, as well, myself included!