Web 2.0 Resources

For the Web 2.0 Resources Project, I used the life cycle of a butterfly. In first grade science, students learn about the life cycles of different animals. I chose the butterfly because as it is turning colder outside, I wanted to think ahead to spring and summer again.

The first part of the project was to create a concept map. In my concept map, I included the different stages of the butterfly’s life cycle, and the main vocabulary terms.

The next part of the project was to use Glogster.com to create a Glog. Glogs are new to me. When using this site, I encountered some difficulties when trying to upload the video. I could not get the video to play the first few times I had attempted to work on the glog. Finally I left it and decided to come back to it later. The next time I attempted it, I got a pop-up note telling me that I could not watch the video in the preview mode. I was relieved that it was just a simple technical error that I had overlooked instead of a bigger problem. The glogster website was pretty easy to navigate. There were many graphics and images to choose from. I was a little disappointed with the graphics because many of them seemed more teen-friendly than child-friendly. I think that upper grade students could benefit from creating a glog or even having teachers use glogs in their instruction. The information could be presented on graphics that they tend to love and use in their own lives. This might make them more interested in the topic being studied.
http://aufan84.glogster.com/butterflies/


The third part of the project was creating a video using animoto.com. I enjoyed using the animoto website and feel that it will benefit me both personally and professionally. I feel that it can be used as an effective teaching tool. There are so many different things that children will be more interested in learning if they think they are watching a video. Being able to create and present a video about the different topics students are studying will allow teachers to be able to teach children using the technology that they love.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

For the free choice part of the project, I chose to use the tikatok website. Through tikatock, students and teachers are able to create books using their own pictures, drawings, and words. Creating a book will allow students to express their creativity and internalize their learning. Having a book made by the class about the topic that has been taught will be a valuable resource. It was very easy to navigate and upload pictures and content. A possible disadvantage I see with using this in the classroom would be securing parental permission to publish the students’ work. Some parents may not want their child’s work published either online or in a book format. However, the benefits to publishing students’ work are so great, that hopefully all parents would give permission.