My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

Say that you find yourself in a foreign land with the need to access past websites, or links that will allow you to return home.  Web 2.0 allows a world traveler to access their online materials all around the world.  With none of these materials being linked to a computer Web 2.0 gives access anywhere, anytime, documents, presentations, videos, can all be yours instantly.  Working alongside the same lines of Web 2.0 is Delicious.com, where Web 2.0 allows us to access personal files, and Delicious.com comprises your personal favorites and bookmarks and provides accessibility anywhere.  To use the world traveler scenario, visiting a internet cafe in Amsterdam the user could easily access their bookmarks and favorites, bringing your home pc or laptop to you thousands of miles away.  Therefore Delicious.com makes students bookmarks accessible, where if student's work, or references can easily be found.  Making research projects easier, if you do not have a personal computers available.  Finally Ustream is a web-based audio/video recorder, easily accessible to anyone with a video recorder.  Teachers have the ability to monitor the approprietness of the material, but the ability to post weekly lesson plans could make students aware of what is to come.  One future interest of mine would be to be involved in a student newspaper, but blogging and Ustream could make a web-based student newspaper an easy and cheap reality.  This would help form a strong community in schools, emphasizing the accomplishments of individuals and groups alike.  Web-based tools are evolving at the pace which makes learning much easier and should be embraced.

Gmail Docs Blog

Google Doc serves as an online form of a word processing tool.  From the beginning this tool proves its uniqueness in that it allows to store all docs online.  Therefore when you create a document, it is no longer a need for a flash drive or emailed attachment, all documents are saved via g-mail.  This also provides a place where access to all documents is available as quickly as it may take to log in. For the most part google docs presents all tools made available by the Apple or Microsoft versions, one difference would lie in formatting options, but these are small inconveniences.  Google docs does provide the ability to share documents with friends or classmates, allowing them the ability to make changes, this is provided by just adding these individuals emails to a list of recipients.  This ability to share documents within google docs makes this a tool which could be very effective within the classroom.  Groups could review collaborative work, or it can also be used as a forum for students to state their opinions on lesson plans or reading material.  Another use for google docs is its effective method for proofreading, rather than bringing in a hard copy, students could email the document to their teacher.  The teacher could revise and make comments, without using valuable paper material.  Prior to this project I had little to no experience with google docs and following I have been convinced of its effectiveness.  My contribution to the project consisted of several suggestions, how this could be used in class, as well as importing pictures to the document.  Overall google docs was eye opening, and very surprising of its accessibility. 

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1_p2eCrOcqTEPYF1hkjGrDVKRN63EOsqhJuzNCBaUaQ0&hl=en&pli=1#

Post #2

Well, my ideas when it comes to the use of blogging in the classroom has been substantially increased.  After reading the information, I am convinced that there is a definite use, my first idea was that blogs could be used as a way to get the students to engage in the technology.  One example of mine was posting extra credit answers on the blog, this way the student would be motivated to attend the site.  One more idea relates closely to my last suggestion, where specific curriculum could be posted on the blog, and in order for the student to get these lessons they would need to use the blog.

After reading some of the testimonials I believe that another use for blogs would be to post writings and allow students to comment, engaging them in an activity where there are no right and wrong answers.  The student would have control over their own ideas and therefore the teacher would be given some insight into the minds of their classroom.  Contact with parents could be made easier by using blogs, posting weekly updates, on a Sunday evening the teacher could post lesson plans.  This would be an effective method for parents to pay close attention to the curriculum within the classroom.  Finally, this was my first time using blogs, and I experienced a good feeling inside to have my thoughts posted online.  This internal motivator could respond to other students that find this idea enticing. 

Bio-Blog

Well this is me(Antonio) on the right hand side, my wife and I are at a local Buffalo Wild Wings, B-Dubs as I like to call it, happens to be one of my favorite establishments.  I find that being a big sports fan, Buffalo Wild Wings does a great job of joining food and sporting events.  I enjoy being active, by taking part in a few hobbies which include, golfing, recreational basketball leagues, and working out.  My two children ages 3& 6 keep me busy, I find myself wanting to stay active for their sake. 
In the future I plan on teaching Social Studies at the High School level, but find myself throwing around the idea of becoming a Middle School teacher as well.  I look forward to the challenge of incorporating my own philosophy into the classroom, teaching became an ambition of mine only after spending the last ten years of my life working with children, in several different forms.  One of this endeavors was coaching boys high school basketball at the JV level.  I have an ambition to get back into coaching, it was a tough decision to choose my education over coaching when I decided to step away. 
My interests include American History, specifically the 1900's to the present, I find that this section of history is highly relevant to current happenings around the political spectrum  Politics is something which I find fascinating, albeit somewhat frustrating in it's present form.  It is just an opinion of mine that politicians would be well suited to look back to our history and find that some of America's biggest changes came around due to compromise, regardless of political party.  Finally, my last interest is a guilty pleasure, reality television.  That is all I am going to say about that subject.  Hopefully this bio-blog shed some light onto who is Antonio Mercado . 

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