Web 2.0

There are many different types of Web 2.0 tools out there. Web 2.0 is used to help people share information, learn new ideas, and make life easier on the World Wide Web. I have heard the term Wikis many times before, but never fully understood what they were and how they worked. The video, Wikis in Plain English, made it very easy and simple to understand exactly what a Wiki does. From my understanding, a Wiki is a website where people can collaborate with others in an organized way. All you have to do on a Wiki website is edit, save, and link your ideas for others to see. One Wiki website I have always know about is Wikipedia. Before this assignment, I had never used Social Bookmarking or Voice Thread. My understanding of Social Bookmarking is a great way to organize your favorite websites and websites you want to remember. When adding a website to you favorites, it can become unorganized. Social Bookmarking uses tags to keep your favorite websites organized and easy to find. Also since social bookmarks are public, this makes it easy to share useful websites with others. Voice Thread is a website where people can engage in an online discussion with others. Discussions can be over a topic, picture, or a video.

Web 2.0 tools can be very beneficial in education for the teachers as well as the students. Wikis can help students and teachers collaborate easily and in an organized way. Wikis can be used for students to collaborate with other students, teachers with other teachers, or teachers can collaborate with their students.  Social Bookmarking can be very beneficial in today’s education. Since social bookmarks are public, this makes it easy for others to access useful websites. By using social bookmarks, teachers can view other teacher’s favorite pages. By doing this, teachers are able to share favorite lesson plans, activities, ideas, and information. Students can also benefit from using social bookmarking. By sharing websites, students can help each other find useful resources, and information for different assignments. Voice Threads can also be very beneficial in education. Teachers can use voice threads to engage their students into a discussion. Voice threads help make an assignment fun for the students to participate in. Web 2.0 tools can be a useful and fun way to help students and teachers share and learn new information.

Copyright, Fair Use, Cyberbullying and Netiquette

I learned many things about copyrights laws and fair use online after completing this assignment. I have always known that copyright laws exist, but I was not aware of how easy it is to copyright something without even knowing it. The copyright quiz really opened my eyes to many different things. I was surprised at how many things I did not know and did not get correct on the quiz. I think it is important for all teachers to take the copyright quiz to make sure they are aware of what they can and cannot do in the classroom. I also learned many things from reading, Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers, from the website: http://dwb.unl.edu/dwb/courses/CURR880/copyright_chart.pdf. One of the main things I took away from this website that I did not know before was that schools are only allowed to hold broadcast tapes for a minimum of 10 school days, and with cable channel TV shows, must only be used with permission. The website is very useful and helpful to anyone in the education field and I would suggest that all teachers keep one handy for reference. 

Throughout my years in middle school and high school I was never properly taught the rules, regulations, and restrictions of copyright laws. I feel that this is not acceptable. Children growing up in a technology world today should be taught Copyrights, Fair Use, Cyberbullying and Netiquette as early as possible. As a future teacher, I need to learn everything I can about copyright laws and fair use because I need to share this information with my students one day. I want to teach this information to them because they are going to become very useful tools in their future. Also I must teach my students what netiquette is, so that my students will know the right way treats others online. And lastly, I must teach my students about cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is very serious. I want to teach my students to know what things they should never say online, and if they are to become a victim of cyberbullying, how to tell someone and get help. These are real issues that do not need to be ignored. Now more than ever is the time educate students about Copyrights, Fair Use, Cyberbullying and Netiquette.

Information Literacy

I use online search engines many different times throughout the day for many different reasons. Along with many people in the world, search engines have become a very useful tool and important as technology advances. I use search engines for things such as spelling, directions, weather, news and much more every day. I have only and always used Google when I am searching for something. I knew there were many other search engines out there but Google is always the first place I go to search for things. I was already aware that some websites are not reliable and should not be used for finding information. But, after reading the materials in this assignment, I learned many new things about search engines. Because I use it so much, I was surprised that Google searches are filtered by number of hits and not the significance of the information you are searching. 

I will more than likely continue to use Google because I have anyway used it and it will be hard to break the habit of typing it in so much. However, after all of the information I read, I am now more open to different search engines. Gradually over time, I think I will try to use different search engines in order to find more reliable and best information out there. Now, when I search for things online, I will definitely be more aware of how search engines may not be showing me the most relevant information.  I plan to teach my students all about these tools I have learned. I know that throughout their career in school, and in their everyday life, it will help them get the best information possible in order for them to succeed. 

I have read and learned a lot of things I had never even heard of doing before this assignment. I think many people today use search engines and do not think about how reliable each website is that comes up as well as how reliable the search engine’s information is. By looking at things such as, external links, publishers of the website, history of the website, and reviews search engines online, you can better know and understand which website are best to use. Technology is only going to advance more over the years, meaning more than likely my students will continue to use search engines. I now know many strategies when using computers and searching for different things online and hope to teach them to my students one day.