Post #5

Two Web 2.0 technologies that I believe are useful in the classroom, and also supports teachers professional development are Blogs and Diigo. 

Blogs are useful tools for the students to interact in a web-based community while sharing ideas related to class discussions and topics. 

For teachers, using Blogs as oppose to discussion boards supports their professional development by allowing them to be innovative and stand out from other instructors. 

Teachers cater to the needs of students by creating a space for students to be expressive and creative, while also learning and building a sense of community. 

For example, I have never blogged before I enrolled in EME2040;

 and even though our class is assigned topics to discuss within our blog posts, I have noticed that I am more willing to be more expressive in my writing and share personal experiences. 

Unlike when answering questions on discussion board post, where I am more formal and straightforward when answering questions. 

According to the Web 2.0 podcast, Diigo is a great tool to use in the classroom because students can bookmark and annotate articles.

 Students can collect articles from the internet, take notes on the article, and share these articles with classmates. 

I believe that this is a great way for students to do research effectively, and determine whether or not an article is reliable or pertains to their research topic. 

Diigo supports teachers professional development by allowing them to share Web 2.0 technology with students to ensure that research is being conducted in the most professional way. 

An interesting Web 2.0 tool I have discovered and will most likely use when teaching is called SlideShare.
SlideShare can be compared to a blog, but instead of creating a post about a relative topic, users create a slideshow presentation that is then uploaded on the website for others to see.
I really like the idea of SlideShare because its design is a cross between Tumblr, PowerPoint, and Facebook. Therefore, it gives users a social media feels to the website which can attract students and keep them engage.
Major topics are also organized into sections such as economics, education, marketing, art, etc., which is a great feature for teachers to use when assigning students to connect with professionals and learn informative information in a particular field of study. http://www.slideshare.net/

According to the technology advancements in chapter 12, the technology that holds the biggest promise for education are massive open online courses (MOOCs).
I believe that MOOCs are the technology of tomorrow because it offers free online courses on topics taught at universities, to thousands of individuals who have an interest in learning more about a topic.
Since MOOCs are web-based courses, it allows more flexibility for individuals to learn if they have full-time jobs or busy raising a family.
MOOCs can b utilized by "Opening opportunities to learn and collaborate... and may well be the tentative first step in restructuring higher education, secondary education, and adult learning in the 21st century" (Lever-Duffy, McDonald, 2015, p.293).