The document discusses the integration of Web 2.0 technologies into classroom instruction to enhance student engagement and interaction. It highlights various tools such as OurStory, Google Calendar, Slideshare, and Skype that can facilitate learning, organization, and communication among students. The author emphasizes the importance of using user-friendly and free applications to promote effective learning experiences.

1. Making Education Fun Incorporating Web 2.0 into the Classroom Vang Vang Instruction/Outreach Librarian CSU Fresno

2. What is fun? All images from Google image

3. Fun in a Class is… When students are Enjoying the activity/assignment Sharing/interacting with each other and the instructor Showing up to class and prepared

4. Web 2.0 … what is it?

5. How did we get it? If you can’t view, copy the below address to any web browser’s url. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

6. How Do You Make/Create Fun? Curiosity Commitment Creativity

7. Journaling http://www.ourstory.com/

8. Collaborative Presentation http://voicethread.com/ Examples: http://educationalsoftware.wikispaces.com/VoiceThread

9. Alternative Communication http://www.skype.com/

10. Time Management

11. Time Saver http://www.slideshare.net/

12. Links – further reading if interested http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/25Tools/Tools/about.html Free! Teaching you (tutorial) about current web 2.0 http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/e-learning_20_all_you_need_to_know.php Classroom e-learning http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_gen_y_is_going_to_change_the_web.php Gen Y and their learning habits – who they are, what they do http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_backpack_web_apps_for_students.php 20 excellent web 2.0 for students to use for FREE! http://www.webware.com/html/ww/100/2008/winners.html Top 100 web 2.0 of 2008 http://web2magazine.blogspot.com/2007/01/thanks-for-web-2.html More web. 2.0 applications/technologies for you to explore

13. RECAP: Remember: Web 2.0 technologies should be easy to use and to learn. If it’s takes you more then 10 minutes to explore/learn and use the application, it might not be a good application to have your students use it. Also almost all Web 2.0 should be free. You shouldn’t have to pay for anything (the basic) unless you want to upgrade and their fee should be strait forward on what you’ll be getting if you upgrade.

14. OurStory - Journal Journaling is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to accelerate your personal development. OurStory helps you recall, write about, and illustrate life’s most important memories. In one easy-to-use, organized place, and in a rich environment that celebrates all of the stories – big and small – with the words, photos and voices that help tell about your journey, at the same time honoring your choices regarding privacy.

15. Google Calendar - Time Management Tool Google Calendar is a free web-based calendar service that enables people to keep track of all their important events, appointments and special occasions in one place, as well as share these details. Put all your assignment due dates on the calendar and share it with all your students. When the assignment is going to be due in a day or two, you can send them notices/reminder.

16. Slideshare - Time Saver Tool SlideShare is the world's largest community for sharing presentations. Anyone can find presentations on topics that interest them. They can tag, download, or embed presentations into their own blogs & websites. Presentations can either be viewed at the website itself or embedded in a blog or web page.

17. VoiceThread - Collaborative Presentation Tool Voicethread allows users to upload a collection of images about any topic, and then to engage in an ongoing conversation about each image. Multiple comments---both audio and text---can be attached to every picture in a presentation, promoting digital dialogue in an interesting and engaging way. It is a way of sharing photos but also a way of having people collaborate using the photos by adding comments to the photos. It is a sort of mix between slideshows and podcasting.

18. Skype - Communication Tool Skype lets you make free calls over the internet to anyone else who also has the service. It's free and easy to download and use, and it works with most computers. Here's the process: Download the software. www.skype.com Install the software. It automatically configures itself for your computer and network. Register as a Skype user. (Finding a unique name will be the tough part.) Get a headset for your computer. Using external speakers and a microphone is possible but not practical. Locate another Skype user. Searching tools make this easy. Click on a Skype contact name. You can do this from a variety of places within the client application. Talk free to people anywhere in the world via comp-to-comp Use Skype as another method of communication for your students to each other or to you. We know that students learn differently – well they also communicate differently too. Chat, IM, email, phone and now skype. Students do not have to give out their phone to each other (privacy issue); they can just skype each other.

19. Other web2.0 worth exploring… Gradefix: http://www.gradefix.com/ Best described by Gradefix, “Gradefix intelligently organizes and prioritizes all of your homework so you are always on top of it.” Students that use Gradefix create a study schedule used to best spread out and prioritize homework throughout the week in hopes to decrease stress and improve grades. mynoteIT: http://www.mynoteit.com/ An online note taking tool for students including a WYSIWYG note editor, assignment reminders, grade management, to do lists, and more. Students can also share notes with friends and receive feedback through commenting on notes. Backpack: http://www.backpackit.com/ Backpack is an all around great organizer including note taking, file storage, to do lists, a calendar, and more. An example use could be that students can create pages in their organizer for each class and manage notes on class discussions as well as upload related files and class documents. vangv@csufresno.edu - May 20, 2008