My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

Web2.0 sounds quite technical and I suppose it is; but in essence, it means that if I upload everything I usually store in my computer into a worldwide site like Google, using their filing systems such as Google.docs, blogger and Gmail and then lose my computer, I will be able to still find my vital information out there in cyberdom using Web2.0 tools. It looks like DropBox is also a cool tool where I can store and backup any information I might want to store and share and access from any computer anywhere in the world.



Web2.0 is also like having my own private toolbox full of gadgets and gizmos I can use and access from the comfort of my easy chair here at home. For instance: Screen Toaster will allow me to create my own video and I don't even need a lot of expensive filming equipment or film crew. I can use this technology to pre-record a lesson plan, tailor made to fit the needs of an individual student, and then that student can access my lesson online if he/she is at home sick.



Or, I think my students would have fun creating a Screen Toaster video of our classroom or of themselves in our classroom and then sharing it with a pen pal in....Pakistan. Of course, there is the whole privacy issue to consider and I would need to have the permission of parents, principals and the powers to be.



Dabbleboard is something like an online etch a sketch but that's like comparing a Model T to a Lamborghini. Dabbleboard is a site where you can create anything from a flowchart to a Monet-like painting. It can also be an interactive site as well where you can collaborate with one or more people and work on a project together and even at the same time even though you may be continents apart.



Dabbleboard, for instance, would be a terrific spot for a student who has artistic talents but maybe not as proficient with math. They could use Dabbleboard to sketch out a math story problem and that would give them a more concrete way to explain themselves rather than the

abstract 2+2 approach.