The Changing Nature of Web 2.0 Tools


 After exploring different Web 2.0 tools the last few weeks, I began to reflect on how to keep up with the ever changing nature of technology, and how difficult it is to stay up to date.  It is so easy to get attached to a royalty free image database, interactive whiteboard, or digital student presentation tool, without realizing there is a newer, more popular version available in the past year.  I find the best way to stay up to date is to converse with colleagues and fellow educators, either in person or online, to find out what web tools people are using and enjoying.  I often get great ideas from seeing what people post and host on their classroom websites for others to see.  Even something as simple as the popular, visually appealing, Bitmoji classrooms, I never would have thought of if I hadn't seen so many great examples of.  Even reviewing my fellow classmates blogs has made me see how limited this particular blog site is as far as opportunities for visual creativity.


One benefit this Educational Technology class offered was how it helped me see the benefit of using Social Media for connection with other educators and instructional designers to gain new ideas and learn about new technology tools.  I often suffer from Social Media "burnout" and value my privacy, and hadn't realized how positive and useful using Social Media, even if it's only for education, can be to stay up to date on new technology inventions that will help keep my students excited and engaged.

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