Lamborn_Beckie_BP3_2009102_web 2.0_tools_Open-Source_iGoogleDocs
As an elementary teacher I may not be able to use iGoogle with my students, but iGoogle is a wonderful web 2.0 tool that could help me as a teacher to organize and pull together ideas. The iGoogle page is a platform that allows me as a teacher to put things that interest me and things that apply to my teaching all in one location. After I set up a free account on the Google site, I am given a free Gmail account, so I can receive or send emails.
The iGoogle account can be accessed and set up through my Google account. This iGoogle account gives me opportunities to create pages that I title according to my personal needs. For the FSO program I have designated more that four pages with page names that can be opened to reveal related information. The page that I am most comfortable navigating during this early stage of getting my feet wet with web 2.0 tools is the Google Docs page. When Google docs page is opened up I can click on documents that have been created by my teammates and me at FullSail. The idea that documents can be created online by a group of people is new and exciting, and having been assigned projects has further allowed me to understand the potential of this collaborative tool. To this point I did not invite teammates to the documents in my file, I was just a collaborator. I think I could use this iGoogle doc tool with fellow teachers, if we were going to create a lesson plan from our homes during our after school hours, free time at school, or at our convenience. I would have to help my teachers set up iGoogle accounts, and I would then have to create a document and invite them to work with me on lessons or other collaborative writings.
Communications through Internet are taking new directions as people are not only receiving information, but now they are responding and creating the information to share with others. According to Dan Woods, a chief technology officer, this “open-source” communication where software tools are provided for people to collaborate and create on the Internet is available due to…“a community of people who are dedicated to working together in a highly collaborative and evolutionary way” (Schrum, p. 50). Programmers are providing source codes “for the sheer enjoyment of seeing their creation used” (p. 13).
Resources:
Schrum, L. & Solomon, G. (2007). Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools. Washington D. C.: ISTE.
Image is free power point clipart adjusted by Beckie Lamborn (2009)
As an elementary teacher I may not be able to use iGoogle with my students, but iGoogle is a wonderful web 2.0 tool that could help me as a teacher to organize and pull together ideas. The iGoogle page is a platform that allows me as a teacher to put things that interest me and things that apply to my teaching all in one location. After I set up a free account on the Google site, I am given a free Gmail account, so I can receive or send emails.
The iGoogle account can be accessed and set up through my Google account. This iGoogle account gives me opportunities to create pages that I title according to my personal needs. For the FSO program I have designated more that four pages with page names that can be opened to reveal related information. The page that I am most comfortable navigating during this early stage of getting my feet wet with web 2.0 tools is the Google Docs page. When Google docs page is opened up I can click on documents that have been created by my teammates and me at FullSail. The idea that documents can be created online by a group of people is new and exciting, and having been assigned projects has further allowed me to understand the potential of this collaborative tool. To this point I did not invite teammates to the documents in my file, I was just a collaborator. I think I could use this iGoogle doc tool with fellow teachers, if we were going to create a lesson plan from our homes during our after school hours, free time at school, or at our convenience. I would have to help my teachers set up iGoogle accounts, and I would then have to create a document and invite them to work with me on lessons or other collaborative writings.
Communications through Internet are taking new directions as people are not only receiving information, but now they are responding and creating the information to share with others. According to Dan Woods, a chief technology officer, this “open-source” communication where software tools are provided for people to collaborate and create on the Internet is available due to…“a community of people who are dedicated to working together in a highly collaborative and evolutionary way” (Schrum, p. 50). Programmers are providing source codes “for the sheer enjoyment of seeing their creation used” (p. 13).
Resources:
Schrum, L. & Solomon, G. (2007). Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools. Washington D. C.: ISTE.
Image is free power point clipart adjusted by Beckie Lamborn (2009)
Hi Becky,
I chose Google Docs as a web 2.0 tool as well. I know that most of my students have Internet access but don't have access to programs such as Microsoft Offices. This is a great way to allow students to work on projects at home and even collaborate together. Many of them spend hours on websites such as MySpace or Facebook. I see Google Docs as a way to apply that social experience to classroom projects. I can also log in myself and monitor the documents and offer suggestions or just get involved in the process.