Never Underestimate the Power of Web 2.0

By Brian -
This past week I had an opportunity to spend a day at the Christa McAuliffe Technology conference for educators. This year's conference was held in Manchester and was an opportunity for school administrators and teachers to learn about some of the new tools and technology resources that schools are using to stay "current" in the 21st century. I took some time to attend a couple of different "Web 2.0" workshops -- these always interest me because I always learn about new web tools and resources that schools are using (as well as new ways to use some old tools). Here is a summary of some of the tools I plan to try soon:

1. Twitter and Blogger -- I have used both of these before, but the twist (or challenge) is to find a way to use one of these to publish the school newspaper. I have asked a couple of students to help me explore how we might upload our December 2010 school newspaper to Blogger to allow for more reader interaction. More to follow on that soon...

2. Here is a new search engine you might want to try: http://www.wolframalpha.com/. On this site, you can type just about anything you want to learn about (even a math equation that you need solved) and the site will do all the work!

3. Do you need to make an audio recording of something that you can use on your computer? This site helps you make one in about ten seconds: http://vocaroo.com/

4. Jing is a web tool that allows you to take a screenshot -- you can even make a movie of a screenshot. This is a great tool if you are trying to show someone how to use an application or other computer procedure. You can even add sound. Here is the address: http://www.techsmith.com/jing/

5. Next time you need to do a presentation, skip PowerPoint and try this tool instead: www.prezi.com. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

I hope you will find these new web 2.0 tools helpful --

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