Web 2.0

I have enjoyed learning about Web 2.0 and the wide variety of things that are out there. I wish a lot of the applications for kids were around when I was growing up. This assignment gave me an opportunity to see what Web 2.0 apps I could use in my classroom.

For starters, one of my favorites is Tikatok
With this, kids can write their own stories and publish them on the internet for people to buy. This would be a great project for kids of any age to participate in. A sample assignment in my classroom could include writing a story in the format of Laura Numeroff's, "If You Give a..." series. By doing such assignments, the students could feel as accomplished as real-life authors and even share their work with friends and family. Also, I could look at the work of other students around the world and see if any of their books could tie in with our lessons too.

My next favorite 2.0 application is kidthing
Here, I can download various applications that can correspond with skills we are learning in class. For example, if I were teaching the alphabet to younger children, I could download one of many applications that will be interactive for the students. I saw one application that cycled through the alphabet in a flash-like fashion. It showed the letters first and then zoomed in on a particular picture that matched the letter. This is much more fun than how I learned the alphabet!

For my third favorite, I chose pikikids
At pikikids, the students can illustrate and write their own literary works in a comic book format. I think this would be especially appealing for boys in elementary school. It is not limited to the comic format, there are many other layouts to choose from. I could assign a project where the kids can illustrate their own comic involving their family or friends. This would be a good introductory activity when the school year begins.

Overall, I am really fascinated at all the resources that are out there to spice up teaching kids. I hope I can incorporate these applications in my classroom in the future.