Web 2.0 Strategies Within Social Studies

Web 2.0 strategies are key for the newest generation of students to be engaged within the classroom. Students communicated digitally now more than ever, and they are more apt to rather learn through a YouTube or TedX video. We as teachers need to work each day on how to keep the students interested in the material and curriculum, and Web 2.0 strategies allows for that type of engagement. Wilson, Wright, Inman, and Matherson discuss within their article Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation ways that we as teachers can utilize blogs, wikis, and digital media to keep students interested. Lisa Matherson provides descriptions of how she was able to use all of these Web 2.0 strategies in her classroom and provides examples of how we as teachers can do the same.

Web 2.0 can be considered an umbrella term to describe different types of online and interactive tools that are created to allow users to create content, make necessary changes, and share the content within an instant. Blogs allow students or teachers to present information outside of the classroom and provide the ability for commenting and conversations from any location that has access to the blog. Different entries can be posted on separate topics that each student can comment and respond to. This will allow the teacher and students to facilitate discussion outside of school and continue the learning process.

Wikis allow for users to create and edit web content at a quick and easy pace. It allows for collaboration and communication of content, and can be available for any person to edit. The most famous example of a wiki is Wikipedia, but these can be very difficult to use when you want authentic and appropriate information. Wikis are similar to blogs as they collect information that can be shared outside of the classroom.

Digital media sharing are examples that are used frequently within the classroom to provide new and exciting information to students. Music, videos, photographs, audio, and other forms of content can be shared on sides such as iTunes, flicker, youtube, snapfish, and teachertube. Teachers and students are able to share information that they created and be combined with other web 2.0 strategies  like a blog or a wiki. By tagging the information, users can find the information quickly and frequently easily. When students create various videos or projects, they can upload them to these digital media sharing sites than share that information with their classmates and teachers.

I think the examples that Lisa used within the article are great ways to use Web 2.0 within the classroom. Specifically for blogs, she was able to provide weekly assignments that have them answer a prompt, provide research, respond to a videocast, or listen to a create podcast and respond. This type of online homework keeps students comfortable with what they are using in their everyday life and allows them to have a user sharing experience that they enjoy, instead of just completing busy work or worksheets. One of the most interesting ways Lisa used Web 2.0 within her classroom is her way of discussing current events throughout the world. By having students listen to a video about the weeks current events in a rap form, students become excited about what they are looking. The music videos highlight the news events that are mentioned within the lyrics, which provides a visual for the students who do not learn best hearing.

When comparing these projects to the technical skills vs. the subject area content focus, I feel that students will gain a better benefit by participating within a blog or video cast and digital media sharing than they would if they did not use the technology. This technology is transparent, because it uses the digital media that many students are familiar with, but uses it in a different way. Because it uses much discussion within the blogs and the viewing of content in a style that students enjoy, I do belief that it was worth taking the time to learn how to use the technology appropriately.

These types of Web 2.0 strategies are something that I do plan on using within my classroom. A blog is a great way to communicate with parents to be more transparent about what is going on within the classroom. I would then use the blog to facilitate discussion about what we are learning in class, and provide students with prompts they need to answer assuming they have Internet access. I would also use the digital media sites to have students post their work such as created videos or discussions. I do think this would be something I could expand on, and use sites such as twitter to help answer quick questions for students outside of the classroom if they have questions. By having some sort of weekly office hours outside of the classroom via twitter or Facebook, students would be able to communicate their questions quickly and hopefully get their responses in a timely manner.

1. Retooling the Social Studies Classroom for the Current Generation
   Elizabeth K. Wilson, Vivian H. Wright, Christopher T. Inman, Lisa H. Matherson
   The Social Studies
   Vol. 102, Iss. 2, 2011

Issues in Educational Technology

Legal issues within technology use in education are at a forefront of many discussions and court battles within the United States. As a future teacher, we must be extremely careful in how we use specific types of media and technology, and specifically the amount of the media that we do use. In terms of ethical uses of technology by both myself and by my students when completing projects, we must remember a few key facts. When utilizing film and video in the classroom, schools and specifically teachers have the legal right to use 10%, or up to three minutes of work. An example could be using small portions from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to discuss the effects of the Bubonic Plague, as long as three minutes or less is used the teacher is legally safe. Another example is when using musics, lyrics, or a music video within the classroom. Many teachers have students use popular songs and have students change the melody of the work to what the lesson entails. Legally, teachers can use up to 30 seconds of the song, and cannot change the melody or the fundamental character of the work.

When discussing my personal feelings about downloading and listening to music that I did not pay for, I have realized as I have gotten older the legal ramifications of using Peer to Peer networks to obtain music in a free way. Without paying for the music, any use of copyright material without specific legal consent, is illegal. As future teachers, we must realize that if we have not purchased the material we could be putting both ourselves and the school district in harms way due to illegally obtaining the work of a specific artists.

Within the realm of my usage of technology and media content in the classroom, I need to make sure that I have some ethical restraints in place to ensure the safety of my students, myself, and my district. If I have presenting material or having students create a project, my expectations of what I want to use need to be clearly explained. If I am sharing a song to talk about any type of social norms, I need to stress why I am only utilizing a certain amount of the song for legal purposes. If my students are creating a project, within the rubric must stress the legality of what the students can and cannot do.


Internet security is also a debatable topic that this new generation is extremely familiar with. I have made sure that my computer is protected with certain security systems such as Norton Antivirus to help protect what I have on my computer. Within my classroom, I need to make sure that the sites I want my students to use have been checked, and these sites will be available for my students to use. I have found that many students do not know how to properly do research until they get to college, so by providing the sites for them and allowing them to make the choice of what they want to use, students will in fact be more effective and safe when researching all together.

Traditional or Computer Based Education?

When listening to the information provided, it is evident that many different districts or schools are tempted to utilize the online forms of education such as the Kahn Institute or a blended model such as seen in GRPS. When looking at this, I find it both important and frightening. I find it important because when used correctly, it can in fact educate a certain type of student more sufficiently than what might be possible within a current classroom. Students who are digital natives that utilize online technology for learning may in fact benefit from the blended model that has been presented. But what frightens me is that many times this is being used as a budget cut maneuver, and not used the proper way.

This thinking of utilizing the online measures could in fact be a game changer in the teaching profession. not in my mind by completely replacing teachers in the traditional classroom, but forcing the possibility of some older educators to realize that their students may not learn best through traditional lecture and work. It also allows for all students to be able to connect with what the lesson may be for the day, even if they are not at school for whatever reason. But there is also the factor that many students may not utilize the new technology that has been suggested if it is not done at school.  Some students do not have the ability to log on to these resources every night, or at all due to their financial status or specific situations.

When looking at whether or not my job description may be different in four years, I do feel that I will need to adapt to the technology at hand and be able to constantly incorporate whatever my students use to learn. Through social media and Web 2.0 strategies, I can be in contact with my students to facilitate the learning throughout the week, not just when they are in my classroom.

I do also believe the flexibility of an online class outweighs some benefits of the person to person experience of a traditional classroom setting, but only in certain aspects. This type of education completely removes socialization and team building within school that are a necessity for the job market after graduation. By having the educational institutions adapt to students, we will in fact be able to connect at a greater rate than if we try to have our students connect to our traditional environment. But what is important is that we have a delicate balance of both the technology that is available and the techniques that are proven to be successful within the classroom.

I have found within my classroom as an instructor that students will only utilize the technology I am using outside of class if they have the ability and expectation from parents to do so at home. We utilize a blog to constantly connect to our parents and students outside of class, but many of our students do not have computers or internet access at home. Because I am in a rural school, I have found that many students just cannot access the blog unless they do so within the class period due to family situations.

I do feel that there are high school and college age students who would benefit from an online education. These are the students who 1.) have the access at home to do so, and 2.) have some sort of expectation to complete the necessary requirements. This class itself is an online model and I have utilized many of the techniques within the placement already, but that is because I have the expectation of my instructor and the dependence of my graduation based on completing the course. The incentive to do the work outweighs the consequences to not, so therefore I take the time to make this happen within my schedule. With the parents being digital immigrants and the students being digital natives, I realize that I need to take the time to utilize the technology within my lessons.

I feel that this isn't a passing phase if it is used effectively, as a support to the traditional classroom setting. Students can complete homework online if they have the ability to, but there needs to be the backbone of learning within the classroom itself.