module 10

What role do I see for web 2.0 tools in my own life as a learner and a member of online communities?
I have always been attracted to doing things differently each time( esp lessons in class) and the web 2.0 tools have been introduced to me at a time when I was yearning to learn more varied strategies of presentation. This marks the beginning of a long term relationship for me and the web tools.

How can web 2.0 assist in improving learning outcomes for all students
These tools will definitely enhance the quality of teaching and learning and I have already seen evidence in lessons. It is important for all teachers to use these tools not because the tool are "out there" but because we are 21 century educators and these web-based tools allow us to be collaborators,negotiaters,leaders,risk takers and be learners...
It is a challenge to use these tools effectively in current programs and learning environments... but anything is possible as we are 21 century educators

Module 9

Scootle- is an excelent way of locating information ..It has already done the work for us by putting interesting sites,teaching-learning activties and elearning resources into one spot. This is a far cry from individual teachers surfing the net to find relevant resouces etc.
It just means that teachers need to take some time to familiarise themselves with the information in Scootle. This is also an effective platfom for teachers to share comments and learn from each other.

Social Networking sites...Face Book, Twitter- I can see these tools as being effective social networking sites but I am reluctant to introduce these as teaching-learning tools. There has been a lot of bad publicity around the use of Face -Book. I use it to keep in touch with family and friends in South Africa and it proves to be a fantastic way of knowing what's going on with groups of people at a time. I also enjoy chatting on-line in Face Book...a bit of the Twitter notion... quick ,short messages and immediate responses to questions.. suits my hectic life style.

Second -Life I was very sceptical about second life as a teaching resource because my first impression of virtual reality tours or shows is that it is nothing but a computer game... I have changed my mind after looking at the video clips. In english we teach context ,purpose,audience ..in texts what better tool to do this than second life

Module 8

Using RSS feeds such as Google Reader . I have been able to place all my favourite websites into one site. New items /information comes to me rather than me surfing the netto find information.... great concept as time is such an issue

Module 7

Delicious is an effective book marking site. This site helps to link in with other articles, blogs,users. This information can be easily shared with friends or work colleagues.Recently I attended the ESL network meeting and at the end of the meeting we were able to use delicious to share and book mark relevant ESL sites. This is an improvement on surfing the net and looking for information ...a great deal of effort and time can be saved.I work at different schools and Delicious is good way of saving so that it can be accessed from any place at any given time.

Glogster-module 6

I found bubbl.us to be an effective tool to help the students to brain storm ideas. It's definitely the way to go rather than the old pen and paper method of creating mind maps.
I loved experiementing with glogs. I created a glog about book reviews and i have registered my students so that they can use glogs to present their book reviews in the form of an online poster or web page.... very exciting... I feel like I am really getting into the web 2.0 teaching phase of my career.I hope there are no advertisements that suddenly appear when the students are online...

Module 4

Photos and other visuals are valuable teaching resources in ESL lessons but I will need to explore the practical aspect of the use of Flickr as the tool to make these visuals available .Can these photos be uploaded directly from a digital camera onto the computer( as a classroom resource) without the use of Flickr??
I do understand that Flickr provides links to other software to make the images clearer etc but I am wondering whether any software is able to do the same effectively. In order to use Flickr one needs to create a yahoo email... In reality... Can I cope with one more email address???
With photos uploaded the possibilities are endless for example with the use of software such as Audacity and Moviemaker students can make movies of their excursions etc..Photos and other visual texts are undoubtedly effective resources to stimulate discussions and probe student creativity ....