Thing 7
Now this something I can use with the Internet. As a Social Studies teacher, I examine many site to utilize in my classroom. "My favorites" becomes a jumble of unorganized sites that I eventually forget about, or forget what they are there for. To be able to organize my areas of study, add them to a classroom wiki, and then have students access them to enhance the subject. This would work well for research projects and papers. The organizational tool would allow me to set up my curriculum and not spend so much time trying to find the "right" site to go to.
With research projects, students could set up an account and keep track of their research and references to enable them to go back to the information and also utilize it for their work sited page. I could go into their accounts and examine what they have (or do have), to complete their project. I can also examine their sources for plagiarism, or other paper defects. I find this site to be helpful and useful. This is especially true for those of us that need help in these areas!

Thing 4

web 2.0 is one of the greatest inventions for teacher and schools. Like many new ideas and concepts, web 2.0 can allow teachers and students access to many creative and fun ways to put together projects and presentations. Although there are also many silly and "what would I do with that" items to choose from, web 2.0 offers many opportunities to find fun and quick ideas to promote technology within the classroom.

It also allows schools to use their technology dollars for new equipment and not have to keep spending money on new soft ware. The savings can add up quickly within a school year to purchase new items, or improve what they already have.

The down side of web 2.0 is that it is constantly changing and to keep up with it can become a daunting task. The sites are generally easy and quick to access, but it may not be there the next time you want to use it.

I am also concerned with "content overload" and how much of this do we do? As educators we are now looking into teaching how to produce content and somehow come to a happy medium, or somewhere we can say we are content. It can be daunting, but maybe for those who have grown up with a computer in their home most of their lives find accessing this information easier. I know I have a love/hate relationship with technology, and web 2.0 is on the love side.

Thing 3

The 21st century teaching has left the 20th century in dust choking. It is hard to believe that I learned enough to get me this far in life. The advantages of computers and social networking have given students a plethora of avenues to search and discover. I see how the work environment and the social networks are changing, and will continue to change. However, I am not positive I believe in all that it can do for us. I am not sure I want my son or daughter meeting their mate on the Internet 1, 000 of miles away and not get to know them in person. As humans we always have to implement safe guards in our lives to protect us, but how do you protect someone from the entire world? I become excited by what is out their, and terrified that something might find me. Having a social network makes me feel vulnerable and not always safe.
With that said, I love the access I have as a educator and the assignments I able to give. The 21st century classroom has so much more to offer. The hard part of it all is making sure the students are on legitimate sites and their information is from a reliable source. They can see the world in a way that I never would have thought possible. Students today can handle so much more information because they are used to multi tasking and changing their listening and viewing mediums. It is amazing stuff, and I will jump on for the ride. However, I know I will not skydive into the unknown.

Thing 2

The concept of blogging is a bit like a roller coaster ride. I am anxious and excited, but unaware of the twist and turns I will encounter. I am not much of a socialite on the Internet in any form, I am an old fashioned girl,and still write letters and give phone calls to those I want to keep in touch with. We had to create a wiki for school this year, and I do not like having to update it and keep it current. I do realize that my students are in a different world and need to access these things and I keep plugging along to keep up. I enjoyed the blogs I read, learned a few neat things, and will implement some of them in my classroom. I hope by the end of the class I can make a decision concerning all this social networking, and what I am missing.