Web+2.0

Crocodoc.com: Crocodoc.com allows for a multitude of work to be done on any kind of document. Most notable is the markup feature. It allows you to create notes and mark up documents, webpages, and slideshows. This is especially useful in an era where “going paperless” is popular. This resource also allows collaboration making it easy to display your work to others.
 * Web 2.0 Assignment - **

Gecommons

Geocommons.com is a mapping tool that is very easy to use. It allows the user to use maps already designed or the user can create their own maps. Geocommons allows you to create several layers on a map which is important to show more detail. The user can incorporate the geo-data already gathered on the site which is helpful in studying geography. Vuvox Vuvox.com is a video editing site that allows the user to create video by a collage of pictures or video clips. There are a variety of customization tools on the site which make for diverse creation of videos.

eQuizzer This site allows a teacher to create interactive quizzes online. The teacher has a multitude of avenues to create an engaging quiz. A teacher could add time limits and create a multi-faceted quiz incorporating several types of answers along with many other features.

Playinghistory.org

This site offers attention capturing games helping students grasp the use of different ideas like the Bill of Rights. While they are games, they are focused on history or aspects from history that affect us today. It is a good way to capture kids’ attention while having them incorporate the knowledge gained in the classroom.

**How I would use these in my classroom:**

Crocodoc.com: A new era has emerged since the wide-spread use of the web and internet. More and more communication and interaction is done on the computer; couple that with a growing emphasis on recycling and sustainable living, "going paperless" is becoming increasingly popular. Paper does have a distinct advantage over computers – the ability to physically. Submitting a paper online usually meant either the teacher would have to print it to mark it up or make comments at the end of the paper which could be hard to decipher. Some teachers inserted their comments at the respective point of concern but formatting issues could complicate this. Thanks to this new era, teachers no longer have to worry about the conflict of hard copies to mark up well for their students or online submission. There are several resources which allow the teacher to upload a paper or project and make user friendly notes and markups to return to the student. __Crocodoc.com__ is a resource which makes this capability available. As an educator, this resource would be very beneficial to me. I am not against using paper but in an age where we can limit our waste I would prefer online submission. However, as a student, I learned the hardcopy papers I received back were much easier to understand versus the comments made on papers submitted online. I want to give my students the best opportunity to learn and that means learning from their mistakes. With crocodoc.com I could upload their papers and use the tools available to highlight certain areas and make notes on needed corrections. Additionally, If the students had profiles on crocodoc, I could collaborate with them and show them mark ups as I go. I believe this resource could benefit my students while giving me the capability to remain mostly paperless.

Geocommons.com: My goal is to become a history or geography teacher. When looking back at history, location plays a vital role in why people did what they did, made their living, and believed the way they did. Having paper maps is an excellent resource but can become cumbersome and outdated depending on the subject. Geocommons.com is a great resource which allows for more than just looking at premade maps. With gecommons.com, I could create or have my students create maps that reflect our specific area of interest. If we were looking at battle sights of the American Civil War I could bring up a map from this sight that displayed all the major battlefields or, better yet, I could have my students create maps pinpointing the battlefields. I could go a step further and have students create layers on the maps displaying another feature like type of terrain. This could be used as a quiz or just an exercise but it engages the students and allows them to create something instead of just looking at a map.

Vuvox.com: With technology comes a demand for newer kinds of presentations. Video presentations can be visually stimulating as well as educational. Vuvox.com is a good site to upload picture collages and videos, edit them and create a unique presentation. In the classroom this site can be used as a way to customize my presentations or have the students work from this site to create projects that involve a video presentation. This challenges the students in using technology as well as creativity in applying it to history/geography. If my class took a field trip to a historical location I might have them take as many photos as they could and then create a video collage of those photos and present the historical significance of the site we visited.

eQuizzer.com: Homework can be very boring and lack engagement of the students. For better or worse, students spend a fair amount of time on the computer. Capturing that time they already spend would be an excellent way to improve their knowledge. With eQuizzer.com, I would create online quizzes for my student. These quizzes would not be the same format every time so they have something new to look forward to each time. EQuizzer.com would allow me to make engaging, interesting study tools for my students. Thinking of the subject of history, I could make a multiple choice quiz involving the Bill of Rights and which amendment matches which description.

Playinghistory.org: The classroom can be a dreaded place to a student which makes homework even more frightful. I want my classroom to be a place where student come because they enjoy learning. Playinghistory.org has a variety of games based on historical events or involving parts of history. One game in specific creates a situational application of the Bill of Rights. While it is a game, it allows the students to learn how the Bill of Rights should be applied to everyday situations. I would not use this resource too much but to create a unique learning environment I would implement this into my classroom.