Use of Web 2.0 Tools...Benefits and Suggestions

There are many benefits of Web 2.0 tools.  When used properly, these tools can aid in communication throughout a campus. 

The Personal Computer Use (CPU) is strong on my campus. This is primarily due to our campus culture and what is expected of teachers throughout our district. On our campus, every teacher has been issued a laptop computer. This has increased the CPU throughout the campus. With the expectation that every teacher has easy and quick access to his or her computer, staff development has increased to focus on use of the development.

I feel that a suggested professional development activity for all school campuses would be use of a Wiki  blogs as a Web 2.0 tool for teachers to share valuable information with each other or as a teachers.

Currently, I am a collaborative teacher in several general education English classrooms as well as a Local Curriculum English teacher in two special education classrooms. To communicate effectively and quickly with my collaborative teacher, we have set up a Wiki website. Throughout this 2011-2012 school year, we have found the Wiki blog to be successful in sharing information. Other teachers in the English department an other departments additionally use Wiki blogs to communicate. A couple of years ago, teachers were required to attend a professional development teaching the benefits and usage of Wiki blogs as a Web 2.0 tool.  Since then, it is widely available and often utilized.

Through Lamar University courses, I have become familiar with SlideShare and have put several on my blog site. After learning how to use this Web 2.0 tool, I will share this information with other teachers on my campus as they might be able to utilize this tool in their classrooms.

Another professional development activity that I feel would benefit our teachers and staff is of Web 2.0 student search engines useful in various classrooms and for a wide range of curriculum activities. For example, the English department uses several student-geared search engines that can be useful in Social Studies classes.

Additionally, many Math and Science teachers are aware of websites that students can use to develop their skills, but this information is not necessarily shared or known by everyone in the department. 

Teachers would benefit from a staff development activity that shared a variety of student search engines and learning-geared websites as well as activities that can be incorporated into lesson plans.