#5 - Got Any Games?

Web 2.0 is a more sophisticated version of a website that allows us to interact and share with each other. In the classroom, different types of web 2.0. websites that could be used would be social media, like Twitter to have quick exchanges between classmates or YouTube to share informational videos to students with their lessons. These uses are passive according to the podcast and there are better ways to involve students in using Web 2.0 tools. Personally, although they seem passive it depends on your lesson plan and how each teacher wants to customize their lesson and the Web 2.0 tools for their students. I believe something simple like Twitter still does help in the classroom even if it is a simple tool.
A Web 2.0 tool that is mentioned in the podcast that hasn't been used in our classroom is a blog platform called 21 classes and can be found here: https://www.21classes.com/ . This platform provides teacher controls to protect students safety and restricting access to student blogs while students are allowed to display their work to classmates and the professor. I would use this tool in my classroom to allow the students the opportunity to speak freely, delve deeper, and exchange thoughts about a topic with their classmates while maintaining a safe and secure environment even behind a computer screen. It would be incorporated into my lesson by introducing a topic in class and later having the students do a reflection piece on the topic.
I believe that the future of education relies heavily on technology. Right now, capturing the attention of students with interactive Smart boards and tablets is effective and insightful at the same time. An advancement that would benefit education overall would be "gamification". It is thrilling for the students and keeps them engaged while learning or practicing a topic and exciting their creativity. For example, as I was growing up I had one website that my teacher would let us go on if we had any free time or for recess, and that website was just a series of educational games. Now, a teacher can specify what he or she wants the students to be "playing" and learning in a game. That game could be a practice in or outside of the classroom for the current topic of the class. Creating a lesson and a curriculum that is fun yet educational is important, and in the future there would be many more games and tools to teach and involve students while doing so.