Web 2.0 in education.

According to Rouse (2015), Web 2.0 is the online technology that it is used nowadays allowing more collaboration and interaction than its previous version, web 1.0. With web 1.0 people only could see content online and download it. Instead, web 2.0 allows users to edit other person’s works, to interact with other users and to work collaboratively online. So it can be said that an important characteristic of web 2.0 that differentiate it from web 1.0 is its social function. Types of social media sites and applications include forums, microblogging, social networking (Facebook, Twitter, Google +), social bookmarking, social curation (Pinterest, Instagram, Reddit), and wikis (Wikipedia).

Web 2.0 tools:

One tool that teachers can use in their classroom, is Voki. Taking into account Kemp (2013), this is a free application in which students and teachers can create their own talking avatar and then this characters can be uploaded to the social medias. Teachers can use this tool to give feedback to students, to design tasks in which students have to record themselves to give an oral presentation, for example, so as to not feel nervous speaking in front of the class. Besides, by listening to their recordings, students can improve pronunciation. This is the link to Voki: http://www.voki.com/

An example of a Voki avatar. 

Another web 2.0 tool is Word It Out, an application to create word clouds by pasting and original text. The application generates a word cloud containing the words in the text. Then users can choose the font, the colours, the layout, the size of the word cloud. Also, one can decide how many times you want a word to appear and the total number of words to be included in the word cloud. In some cases, the word that is more frequent in the original text is the largest in the word cloud. The final work can be shared to the world or saved in a computer. Here is the link to access Word It Out: https://worditout.com/

Here are more examples of web 2.0 in education:

These are some of the great amount of tools that web 2.0 offers teachers to implement in their classrooms and make the teaching/learning process more original, engaging and funny. You should really try to make use of these technologies that facilitates our work and are accessible to all of us.

References:

- Kemp, C (2013). What is voki and how do I use it in the classroom. Retrieved from  http://mrkempnz.com/2013/03/what-is-voki-and-how-do-i-use-it-in-the-classroom.html
- Rouse, M (2015). Web 2.0. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Web-20-or-Web-2

SAMR model and the implementation of technology in the classroom.

According to Scrock (2017), the SAMR model is a framework created by Dr. Ruben Puentedura. The acronym stands for the four levels of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition. This model helps educators to introduce technology into teaching and learning by enhancing technology and pedagogy. When using efficient digital tools that are appropriate for the task, the integration of technology in the classroom becomes significant.

Through the different levels of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition, the SAMR model transitions from small enhancements to total transformation. The mentioned levels can be defined in the following way:

Accroding to Spencer (2015), in the substitution and augmentation level, teachers can use technology to accomplish traditional tasks, an example of substitution would be when teachers ask students to type an essay in their laptops; here technology only substitute the paper. In the augmentation layer, students can be asked to type the essay in a Google Doc where they have the option self-correct their work.With modification the learning is more significant, the essay now is posted in a blog so it can be seen by an authentic audience who can make comments and give feedback on it, for instance. However, the real learning comes when students are engaged in learning experiences that could not be accomplished without technology, this is the redefinition level. Here students can co-write these blogs with experts from around the world through video conferences, for example.

Here is a video that shows very clearly what has been previously said:

In conclusion, it can be stated that lessons are much more interactive and collaborative when using technology, and the most important fact is that learner can become active participants in their learning. Through the SAMR model educators can achieve this learners’ involvement in the lesson being taught.

For more information you can visit Dr. Puentedura’s blog: http://hippasus.com/blog/

References:

Common Sense Education (2016, July 12) “What is the SAMR Model?” Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b5yvgKQdqE&feature=youtu.be

Schrock, K. (2017) “Resources to support the SAMR Model” Retrieved from http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html

Spencer, J. (2015, November 3) “What is the SAMR Model and what does it look like in schools?” Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC5ARwUkVQg&feature=youtu.be