On this page, I will be highlighting several of the Web 2.0 tools that I think are useful in bringing technology and interactivity to the classroom. This will be a work in progress and I will be adding to it as time goes on. I hope you find these useful
Primary Access:
One of the Web 2.0 tools that I wish to share is a tool called Primary Access, which can be found at www.primaryaccess.org. This is actually a suite of three free tools designed to allow students and teachers to use primary source documents to create digital movies, storyboards, and rebus stories. The tool can be used in one of two ways - either the teacher can create an assignment and upload images that can be used by the students, or the students can create their own projects individually. The teacher also has access to a suite of teacher tools to facilitate using this product. Once completed, the students can present their digital stories and they can be shared on the web, or even published out to a classroom website as an attachment.
Teachers may find this tool very useful both for use with their students, and within their own collaborative learning communities. With an increased focus on the use of primary source documents in all subject areas, this tool allows students to interact more closely with the information. Additionally, teachers can bring otherwise static images to life and they can use this either as a way of providing background knowledge that students can access prior to a lesson, or as a supplement to their existing teaching materials.
You can find out more about the product and why it was created in this video:
Zamzar
Zamzar is another web 2.0 tool that teachers may find useful for working around many of the firewalls and other impediments to bringing video into the classroom. Zamzar works by allowing anyone to convert an online video to a more portable format, which can then be imported into any existing classroom technologies such as Powerpoint. The user would sign up for a free account and then indicate the URL of the video that they wish to convert, as well as the desired format and the e-mail address to which the file link will be sent. Since most schools allow links through the email system, while blocking streaming video, this solution allows teachers to share these valuable online resources without the problems associated with streaming video and bandwidth.