Blog Post #5

I believe that web 2.0 tools will be an important resource for the classroom and I think that tools like open content, cloud computing, and gamification will all be very useful in the classroom and can be used to help advance students quicker and more efficiently. These tools like gamification can allow for students to learn and have fun which in turn makes them want to study more and play more unlike with just regular sites, an example of this would be a math game that only advances you after answering a question, this would allow students to want to play it while maybe a traditional worksheet would not get done, not because they don't know it, but rather because they don't want to do it. I don't think however that certain tools like augmented reality can help much just because it doesn't in my option have the platform to develop into a learning tool. The podcast mentions YouTube for finding videos to help teach and I think this is a great use of this tool because with YouTube's ability to recommend videos based on the content your watching it could provide even more content about the same topic with relative ease.

For a Web 2.0 tool that I would use and recommend in the classroom would be Google Docs. This site is a cloud based multi person version of PowerPoint that allows for students to work on the same documents all at once and can support a ton of people. When I was in high school this site saved my life if I was busy and couldn't meet face to face for a partner or group project and allowed for work to get done miles apart. I really like this site and think it would be great to use and all it requires is a google account so I give this site a 10/10 and the link is www.google.com.

I think that gamification hold the biggest promise for teaching in the future. As it stands right now kids love playing all types of games and if given the right game and the time any child would, in my option, love to play games instead of a worksheet and this could also help catch kids who are behind up and give them something to do at home that they would want to do. This technology is already here and my little brother is using it in his middle school and he loves it and learns a whole lot faster with this tool, however as it stands now we need better games that can draw in more kids and still be cheap enough for even small schools to afford.