Wikis

Wikis are great ways for people to collaborate on a project or to compile information on a specific topic. I have enjoyed using wikis. I am used to meeting with a group to do a group project. Wikis make it easy for multiple people to work on the same activity or project without having to take time out of their day to meet with the entire group. It make collaboration as easy as getting online. Communicating about the project through the wiki is also very simple. There is a place to comment at the bottom of each page, so each member can explain why they did what they did or what they think about something on the page. Wikis are easy to navigate and easy to edit.  I will continue to use wikis in my schooling and possibly in my classroom.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is really interesting. It is so interactive and you can do a ton of cool things with the different tools and  applications. After hearing all of the presentations I decided to start using delicious. Most people have their own computers but I do not at the moment. Delicious is a great way to bookmark web pages and I can access them from any computer! Voicethread, which is the tool I did my presentation on, is something I will probably use in my classroom. It is a great way for children to work collaboratively and creatively on a project or presentation. Smilebox is also very neat. I have scrapbooked in the past on paper and now I have an opportunity to scrapbook online. This tool would be great for creating a scrapbook in the classroom of the children's artwork, projects, activities, or just the class in general. Web 2.0 tools are great and I can see myself learning more about them and using them in my life and in my future classroom.

Actually Evaluating a Web Page

I had the opportunity to use an evaluation tool to evaluate a web site that I could potentially use as a resource when I become a teacher. I will be working with some children with learning disabilities so I looked for a site that might be a useful resource on the topic. I found a site that looked very nice and seemed to be full of great information. From first glance I thought I would be checking the box for "highly recommend" at the end of my evaluation, but that was not the case. This site did not provide any contact information for the author and I was unable to find out if the organization behind the site was considered a leader on the topic or not.  I did recommend with reservations, however, because there were many publications with references and all that I believe would be a good resource.  This assigment helped me to be able to take a closer at web sites before I trust the author or the information provided.

Useful Tool for Evaluating Web Pages

http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/libraryguide/evalwebpages.html

Here is a link to Duke University Library's website. It takes you straight to the page about evaluating web pages. I liked this site because it starts with a brief overview of the criteria one should look for in a credible web page. Authority, purpose, currency, objective, and support are the five overshadowing criteria. The author breaks down each of these criteria and gives the reader questions to consider as well as tips to use while evaluating a site. This evaluation tool would be helpful to anyone wanting or needing to know the credibility of a certain source. It is concise and easy to follow.