Web 2.0 Defined
What is Web 2.0 or Web 2? Simply put, Web 2.0 is the new Internet, a place where non-tech users interact with other users; find information; create personal websites, eBooks, electronic posters, presentations; and find a wealth of creative ways to bring education alive. A perfect environment for inquiring minds to explore, expand, and actualize new ideas. A teacher's paradise.
On this page you will find a sampling of popular sites you can use to build CCS-ready lessons based on Web 2.0. You will find that building Internet-based lessons teaches students to work with computer technology, search information, and use higher level thinking in their assignments. These skills are part of the CCS and necessary for today's workforce and colleges.
On this page you will find a sampling of popular sites you can use to build CCS-ready lessons based on Web 2.0. You will find that building Internet-based lessons teaches students to work with computer technology, search information, and use higher level thinking in their assignments. These skills are part of the CCS and necessary for today's workforce and colleges.
Click a link below to view information on a Web 2.0 Tool.
- PREZI -- Cloud-based presentation software
- Storybird -- Visual creative writing/literacy tool
- Glogster -- Free interactive electronic posters
- Weebly -- Drag and drop website building
- Animoto -- Online vIdeo making
- Photo Story 3 -- Photo presentation program
- Wordle -- Turn text into word clouds
- Museum Box -- Online visual displays of artifacts
- Slide Share -- Share presentations, documents, PDFs, and videos
- LiveBinders -- Create and share digital three-ring binders
- Testmoz -- online test generator
- Edmodo -- Online learing platform for teachers, students, and parents
- Lulu -- Online self-publishng print-on-demand books, calendars, photo books
- Quizlet-- Easy to use online learning tool
- ActivelyLearn -- Web 2.0 site that is a platform for e-reading and interactive discussion (and so much more) for all grade levels
- Teaching Channel -- Common Core resources, teacher videos,strategies, and lesson plans
- Graphic Novels/Comic Books in the Classroom -- Using graphic novel/comic books as teaching tools
- Superlame -- Web 2.0 site to create graphic novels for any subject
- Bitstrip -- Web 2.0 site to create individual graphic novels/comics or open an educational account for the whole class
PREZI (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Prezi.com
Prezi is an online presentation tool that brings a whole new meaning to classroom presentations. It is free for educators and students alike. Instead of creating static, old fashioned Power Points you can create presentations that have movement, include pictures, videos, and links to other Websites. The learning curve is nominal.
Take time to visit Prezi.com to learn more.
Take time to visit Prezi.com to learn more.
Prezi Tutorial (YouTube Video)
Storybird (Tool for Students)
Click image to open Storybird.com
Storybird.com is an online tool that lets users create stories using the art provided by Storybird. This is a great tool for getting students to write fearlessly and to practice their skills. From a teaching standpoint, Storybird is a wonderful tool for teaching writing standards found in CSS for all grades. There are hundreds of themes to chose from. All students need do is write their narrative to match the art work. Teachers can create assignments designed to meet grade-level narrative writing standards and Students can submit their Storybirds to the teacher's online site for grading, sharing, and publication as books.
Not only is Storybird a good tool for teaching narrative, it can help ELL students who struggle with the language. Go to www.Storybird.com for more information on costs (educators can sign up a limited number of students for free) and registration instructions. In addition, it helps to comply with the CSS standards for "using technology to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products..."
Common Core Standards require teachers to include writing in every discipline. Storybird.com is a place to have students write to any subject while using their creativity. Students can use Storybirds to show understanding in any assigned material. Look at some of the ideas below for using Storybird outside of the English Language Arts classroom.
Foreign Language: Students can create a Storybird in the foreign language being taught.
Science/Math: Students can show their understanding of formulas or concepts by creating an instructional Storybird. One of the many characters students can choose could be the instructor.
Computer Technology: Students can create fun procedure manuals using Storybird.
History: Have students create a Storybird based on their understanding of an historical period.
Physical Education: Students can show their knowledge of sports and sports health by creating a Storybird.
The Arts: Students can find ways to explicate the arts using Storybird as a tool.
Storybird is a fun way to write and show knowledge, while most importantly, using Storybird keeps students focused on their assignments.
Below is a sample of a Storybird.
Not only is Storybird a good tool for teaching narrative, it can help ELL students who struggle with the language. Go to www.Storybird.com for more information on costs (educators can sign up a limited number of students for free) and registration instructions. In addition, it helps to comply with the CSS standards for "using technology to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products..."
Common Core Standards require teachers to include writing in every discipline. Storybird.com is a place to have students write to any subject while using their creativity. Students can use Storybirds to show understanding in any assigned material. Look at some of the ideas below for using Storybird outside of the English Language Arts classroom.
Foreign Language: Students can create a Storybird in the foreign language being taught.
Science/Math: Students can show their understanding of formulas or concepts by creating an instructional Storybird. One of the many characters students can choose could be the instructor.
Computer Technology: Students can create fun procedure manuals using Storybird.
History: Have students create a Storybird based on their understanding of an historical period.
Physical Education: Students can show their knowledge of sports and sports health by creating a Storybird.
The Arts: Students can find ways to explicate the arts using Storybird as a tool.
Storybird is a fun way to write and show knowledge, while most importantly, using Storybird keeps students focused on their assignments.
Below is a sample of a Storybird.
Story Bird Tutorial
Glogster (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Glogster for Educators.
A Glogster is an interactive electronic poster. There are an infinite ways you can use a Glogster in the classroom. For example, you can create a Glogster as a presentation or you can create an assignment using Glogster. You can even put lectures, tests, and quizzes on a Glogster. How you choose to use a Glogster is limited to your own ideas. The best thing about Glogster is it can be used for any subject.
Before embarking on your first Glogster project, read Digital posters: Composing with an online canvas an excellent article on using Glogster (or any electronic poster) effectively in classroom. Written by Kevin Hodgson from the University of North Carolina at Chappel Hill, this article includes a very good project on the Islamic culture, a grading rubric for the project, and a paper on how to use Glogster.
Visit these links for ideas on teaching students how to create effective electronic posters. Creating Effective Poster Presentations. How to create a poster that graphically communicates your message.
Below is an example of using a Glogster to teach students the research process and how to cite information to prepare them for the bigger task of writing a research paper. As you move your cursor over the Glogster some areas will show a bright pink circle, click on the circle to open a Website. You will open an attached document when you click on the paper clip icon at the bottom right of the poster.
Before embarking on your first Glogster project, read Digital posters: Composing with an online canvas an excellent article on using Glogster (or any electronic poster) effectively in classroom. Written by Kevin Hodgson from the University of North Carolina at Chappel Hill, this article includes a very good project on the Islamic culture, a grading rubric for the project, and a paper on how to use Glogster.
Visit these links for ideas on teaching students how to create effective electronic posters. Creating Effective Poster Presentations. How to create a poster that graphically communicates your message.
Below is an example of using a Glogster to teach students the research process and how to cite information to prepare them for the bigger task of writing a research paper. As you move your cursor over the Glogster some areas will show a bright pink circle, click on the circle to open a Website. You will open an attached document when you click on the paper clip icon at the bottom right of the poster.
Glogster Tutorial
Weebly (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Weebly for Education.
Give students an opportunity to create their own Websites through Weebly. It is an extremely easy Web 2.0 tool that will help your students become more involved in technology. All you do is sign up for an education account on Glogster. You can create your own class Web and are given 40 free accounts to add to your site for student use. It will cost a dollar for each additional student. There is an annual cost if you want to upgrade.
Weebly is easy to use and a good way to create a class Website. This Website was created in Weebly.
Weebly is easy to use and a good way to create a class Website. This Website was created in Weebly.
Weebly Tutorials
Animoto (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open
Animoto for Educators.
You can use Animoto in the classroom to create presentations using video, music, and pictures. In addition, you can give your PowerPoint presentations a facelift by turning them into an Animoto. Students will find all sorts of ways to bring boring presentations to life by creating them in Animoto. This is another great way to meet the Common Core technology standards.
Below is an example of an student-created Animoto on the Hunger Games that was turned into a YouTube video.
Below is an example of an student-created Animoto on the Hunger Games that was turned into a YouTube video.
Animoto Tutorials
Photo Story 3 (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Photo Story 3 is a free Microsoft product that you can download on your PC or MAC computer. This is a tool for digital story telling and for presentations. All you do is create a PowerPoint presentation, save each slide as a jpeg and then download it into PhotoStory 3 where you can add and time your own narration and music to fit the slides. This program allows students to create:
Click here to download Photo Story 3 for PCs. Click here to download Photo Story 3 for Mac.
- digital Stories,
- persuasive Essays,
- narrative Stories,
- presentations, and
- anything else that comes to mind.
Click here to download Photo Story 3 for PCs. Click here to download Photo Story 3 for Mac.
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Using Photo Story 3
The document below, written by David Jakes contains very thorough procedures on creating and saving a Photo Story 3.
Photo Story 3 Tutorials
Wordle (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Wordle.
As the creators of Wordle tell us on their Website, Wordle is a "toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide." Toy or not, it is a fun way to introduce vocabulary or ideas about a topic to students. One way to use Wordle is to cut and paste information from a text to preview a lesson or unit your class is studying. In addition, you can link your Wordle to blogs or make copies to hand out to students. It is particularly good when introducing a lot of vocabulary.
Wordle Tutorial
Another Way to Save a Wordle
- 1. Click on open the Wordle Window underneath your finished Wordle.
2. Click on the Microsoft Button located at the bottom left of your computer screen. The Programs Menu Screen will open.
3. Choose Snipping Tool (looks like a pair of scissors) from the list. The screen will gray out when the snipping tool opens. The snipping tool cursor looks like a plus sign.
4. Click on the left key on your mouse and move the cursor around the area you want to snip.
5. Release the mouse button and a screen will appear showing what you have snipped.
6. Click on Save As from the File Menu and save your Wordle to your Pictures Folder as a JPEG file.
The following is an example of a Wordle made from the poem: The Road Not Taken by: Robert Frost.
Museum Box (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Museum Box.
Museum Box is another imaginative tool for teacher and student presentations. The idea is to create three-dimensional virtual boxes that represent anything you want to present. As a teacher, you can create interesting lecture notes for presentation and then embed the link to your Museum Box in a blog for students to re-visit. (See sample below.) You can also assign projects for students to create using museum box, for example: you can have students use Museum Box to enhance research projects, or showcase their understanding of art, science, history, math, physical education, or a particularly difficult text -- any subject. A whole school subscription will cost less than $99.00.
Museum Box Tutorial
Slide Share (Tool for Teachers)
Click image to open Slide Share.
Slide Share is a resource for the busy teacher who is searching for good presentations or ideas for presentations. They are free for educators. Before putting time into a presentation you can go out on the Slide Share Website and see if other teachers have created presentations that you can download and use. Since this is a "sharing" Website, so it is important you share some of your effective presentations.
How to set up and use Slide Share Tutorial
LiveBinders (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open LiveBinder for Education.
LiveBinders is a tool for organizing your resources online. Not only can you create "virtual" three-ring binders to store all the resources you use in your lessons, you can organize all your binders of information into digital binders and save them online into nice presentable containers. In LiveBinders you can combine all of your cloud documents, website links and upload your desktop documents to then easily access, share, and update your binders from anywhere. LiveBinders is also a tool for students to create portfolios and projects.
LiveBinders Tutorial
Click here to access additional video tutorials about LiveBinders.
Testmoz (Tool for Teachers)
Click image to open Testmoz.
Often students will score better on an electronic test than on a paper test. What you need is a easy tool that: grades tests, lets students see their results and responses after completing the tests; lets teachers see scores and averages, and allows exporting to CSV.
Testmoz is a free online test generator that supports four types of questions: True/false, multiple choice, multiple response, and fill in the blank questions. Tests are easy to create in this simple and elegant testing tool. There is no registration involved, tests are pass code protected, and there are no ads associated with this Testmoz. Also, students can take tests online or on an iPad.
You can also use Testmoz to make worksheets.
Testmoz is a free online test generator that supports four types of questions: True/false, multiple choice, multiple response, and fill in the blank questions. Tests are easy to create in this simple and elegant testing tool. There is no registration involved, tests are pass code protected, and there are no ads associated with this Testmoz. Also, students can take tests online or on an iPad.
You can also use Testmoz to make worksheets.
Testmoz Tutorial
Edmodo (Tool for Teachers, Students, and Parents)
Click image to open Edmodo.
Edmodo is a powerful online tool for the classroom that allows you to post messages, discuss classroom topics, assign and grade
classwork, share content and materials, and network and exchange ideas with peers. There is so much more to Edmodo.
It is a way to connect to your class and provide a forum for students to connect and collaborate with each other, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.
More than a blog, Edmodo provides students with a rich learning environment that includes apps. The best way to learn about everything that Edmodo has to offer is to watch the tutorial below and spend time on the Edmodo Website.
It is a way to connect to your class and provide a forum for students to connect and collaborate with each other, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.
More than a blog, Edmodo provides students with a rich learning environment that includes apps. The best way to learn about everything that Edmodo has to offer is to watch the tutorial below and spend time on the Edmodo Website.
What is Edmodo?
How to use Edmodo in Your Classroom: Share, Grade, and Organize Tutorials
More in-depth Tutorials about Edmodo
Click here to learn more on how to use Edmodo to it's fullest.
Lulu (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Lulu.
One way to get students excited about writing is to show them how to publish their work into a real book or create a calender using their art. Lulu.com is a self-publishing Website that is perfect for showcasing student writing. Teachers can create class projects for publication, input the students' work, and choose what type of book or calender to make. Teachers can have students create informative instruction books or books on any subject matter as individual or class projects. The point is to get students excited about a subject by publishing their work.If you publish a book, you can purchase it directly from Lulu.com as an eBook (see picture below), or as a traditional hardback or paperback book.
Lulu Publishing Tutorial
Quizlet (Tool for Teachers and Students)
Click image to open Quizlet.
The best way to explain Quizlet is to use the description from the Website.
"Quizlet is a free website providing learning tools for students, including flashcards, study and game modes. It was created by high school sophomore Andrew Sutherland in 2005 and now contains over 400 million study sets. All of the material is user-enerated."
Teachers can create their own flashcards for students to study or have students create their own. This is a tool to enhance instruction, study for content areas, and allow student directed learning.
"Quizlet has no pre-determined curriculum. Students define what they need to learn and we provide the tools. We help Art History majors learn paintings, Spanish students learn their verbs, 5th graders learn their spelling words, and new waiters learn the menus of their restaurants. Our aim is to build software that any learner can use, so of the stuff is free." http://quizlet.com/mission
"Quizlet is a free website providing learning tools for students, including flashcards, study and game modes. It was created by high school sophomore Andrew Sutherland in 2005 and now contains over 400 million study sets. All of the material is user-enerated."
Teachers can create their own flashcards for students to study or have students create their own. This is a tool to enhance instruction, study for content areas, and allow student directed learning.
"Quizlet has no pre-determined curriculum. Students define what they need to learn and we provide the tools. We help Art History majors learn paintings, Spanish students learn their verbs, 5th graders learn their spelling words, and new waiters learn the menus of their restaurants. Our aim is to build software that any learner can use, so of the stuff is free." http://quizlet.com/mission
Quizlet Tutorial
Actively Learn (Tool for Teachers)
Click image to open ActivelyLearn.
Commonsense.org describes ActivelyLearn.com as follows: Actively Learn is an interactive e-reading platform (and Chrome app) where students can highlight and annotate text as they read. What's more, it lets teachers assign texts to students, and groups of students, so that whole classes can read, annotate, and interact around a text. The site contains thousands of free ELA, science, and history texts, from "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" to George Washington's Farewell Address. Don't see what you want? Teachers can upload any text of their choosing, from online articles to your own media. You can also use, rent, or buy copyrighted materials through the platform (depending on the version you're using). Pricing for Actively Learn depends on whether you plan to use it infrequently, personally, as a team, or school or district wide.
Link to tutorials on using ActivelyLearn.
Click here to open ActivelyLearn How It Works.
TeachingChannel (Tool for Teachers)
Great Teaching Inspiring Classrooms
Click image to open TeachingChannel.
TeachingChannel (Tch) is a Website filled with videos for teachers showcasing effective teaching strategies that offer insight and support. Teachers sign up for free and can create a workspace detailing personal educational interests. Tch will send alerts when videos come in that match the workspace information.
This is also a resource for finding ideas on how to incorporate CCS into instruction. Click on Tch to learn more about TeachingChannel.org.
This is also a resource for finding ideas on how to incorporate CCS into instruction. Click on Tch to learn more about TeachingChannel.org.
Graphic Novels in the Classroom
There are a myriad of ways that teachers and students can use graphic novels/comic books in the classroom. Math and science teachers can check for student understanding by having them create procedures for solving problems or performing experiments in a comic book forum. History and Social studies teachers can have students create interesting presentations based on research using the comic book forum. English teachers can have students create graphic novels of complex readings to check for student understanding. Foreign language teachers can have students create comics or graphic novels in the language they are studying. They are also a great resource for teaching reading. The uses are only limited by the imaginations of the users.
Below are two Web 2.0 sites that teachers and students can use to create graphic novels/comic books.
Below are two Web 2.0 sites that teachers and students can use to create graphic novels/comic books.
Superlame
Superlame is a free Web 2.0 tool that students and teachers can use to create graphic novels/comic books of their work using pictures. Click here to access the site directly, for free. Or, click here to open iTunes to download the app for $.99.
Superlame Tutorial
Superlame Tutorial
Below is a tutorial on using creating cartoon balloons on existing photos using Superlame.
Bitstips
This site allows individuals to create graphic novels/comics for free. Teachers can sign up for the Educational package and use the site to adapt lessons, teach critical thinking skills, and create lessons plans -- which are just a few of its uses. There is a fee for this more sophisticated service. The annual cost to a district is $750 for up to 500 schools, or teachers can sign up for individual accounts. Click here to learn more about Bitstrips for Schools.