Web 2.0

I had planned on doing much research on different Web 2.0 programs over the summer.  My school district was able to get a technology bond passed and all classrooms in the district are being converted to "Classroom of Today" rooms with installed smart boards, projectors, built in speakers, etc being installed.  The district is in the process of finding grants so that we can have a one to one computer program.  I have not used much modern technology in my class because it was almost impossible to reserve a projector or the computer lab, so these changes will be great.

I have been experimenting with Glogster for my project.  A fellow Science Olympiad coach in my region is a Glogster ambassador and has given many presentations on it, so she has been giving me hints and examples to view and use.  I like how I can make one "poster" and I can include notes, any video clips I want, and other data, pictures and what else I would like.  It is like a one place stop for the information on what topic I am presenting that day or week.  I also like how I can control what a student can do and upload if they are going to work on projects.  Students can get to their Glogster projects from any computer by using the user name and password that was assigned by the teacher.  There are different levels of Glogster programs, including. a free one that does not have all of the features.  There are examples and tutorials available with Glogstser.  Since students can design the glog that want, I feel that students would have fun and be excited to create projects with Glogster.

The other Web 2.0 program that I am going to investigate more is Haiku.  This program allows you to set up discussion boards, blogs, wikipages and even quizzes where I am able to collect grades.  This program allows you to set up pages by class periods, so that you can quickly modify projects for each hours needs.  Haiku also allows the uploading of Google Docs and will help create Google Docs so that students are able to work on projects together.  There is one free version, that works for up to 75 users, and different prices for different versions depending on the number of classes/students and the amount of storage.  The website for Haiku says that it will work with your schools current SIS program to upload student information.