3)+Web+2.0


 * Web 2.0 provides teachers with a whole new way to interact with their students digitally! Here are some important websites that can be used to integrate technology into a lesson plan:**

The most obvious example of web 2.0 is, of course, Wikispaces. After all, I am currently using the website as a part of an academic assignment. Wikispaces is a hosting service that is based out of San Francisco, CA. It enables anybody to create their own web pages, using features similar to Microsoft Office. Users can upload their own pictures and files, and hyperlink to other websites. You can even load videos from other web 2.0 sites, like Youtube. Wikispaces is free to the general public – there are advertisements attached to your created web page – for a yearly fee, you can buy a professional Wikispace with more available features. As of March, 2009, Wikispaces was hosting over 2.2 million registered members!
 * Wikispaces!**

As a future science teacher, there are several uses of Wikispaces that I can envision. First of all, I could post assignments or modules on my own Wikispace. These modules could include links to other related websites, including links to Youtube videos! For example, if I were creating an assignment about non-Newtonian fluids, there are a number of very cool videos on Youtube showing people playing with these crazy materials. A second use of Wikispaces – and the better one, I think – would be to have my students create their own Wikispace, just like I’m doing now. That way, they get to learn by creating; and, again, they could add links to any interesting science videos they find!

Another upcoming web 2.0 powerhouse is Prezi. This site allows users to create their own presentations similar to Microsoft’s PowerPoint. Prezi, however, offers many more features than PowerPoint. The most poignant is its ability to move around a whiteboard, with angle and zoom effects. These abilities can make a boring presentation feel more like a movie! I was already planning on using PowerPoint in the classroom; now, I’m not sure I want to. Instead, I think I’ll use Prezi, and create some presentations that will impress my students. Science teachers should be the most tech-savvy of any discipline, and flashy tools like Prezi can help me earn the respect of my pupils! Or, again, I could have my students use Prezi to make their own presentations. Research presentations are a staple of the scientific disciplines, and they're going to have to move to the next generation one of these years!
 * Prezi!**

Slide is another presentation tool. However, whereas Prezi is a next-generation PowerPoint, Slide is more focused on creating slideshows, along with special effects and special transitions. You can also imbed your photos on any social network, such as Facebook or MySpace.
 * Slide!**

Once again, Slide may be a presentation tool that I could use in the classroom. Although giving a slideshow as part of a lesson plan is not something that I want to do too often, it could certainly be a useful tool. Plus, once again, it could be a great tool for creating an assignment for my students. I could have my students create their own Slide shows, about some sort of science topic. As of now, schools are certainly requiring their students to be able to use PowerPoint to create scientific presentations; why not help them become a little more tech-savvy, and make presentations using other programs?

While Googledocs may not be as exciting as the previous web 2.0 examples, it could be just as useful. This application is an extension of the web powerhouse Google. It offers free online word processing – similar to Microsoft Office – and also enables the document to be accessed by anywhere via the internet. Furthermore, it has a real time collaboration feature that allows multiple people to edit documents and see changes as they make them.
 * Googledocs!**

Googledocs could be useful in my classroom in a number of different capacities. Firstly, I could require students to use Googledocs to create an assignment and therefore turning it in to me via the web. Or, if a student has a computer but does not have a word processor, they could use Googledocs to complete an assignment. The most creative use, though, would be to use it for a group assignment. I could assignment group research papers that have to be done on Googledocs, using its real time collaboration feature!

The website mypodcast.com offers a new way to obtain audio files. It enables any users to upload their own audio files and share them; these files can then be downloaded onto most audio playing devices (like ipods) and be listened to.
 * Podcasting!**

Another creative alternative for lesson plans, podcasting would enable me to offer supplemental lesson plans on audio. For instance, if a student had trouble understanding a lesson, or wasn’t there, I could potentially record the lesson and offer it on the web! Or, of course, I could create an assignment that requires listening to audio (like identifying various animals, based on the sounds they make) or have my students make their own podcast for extra credit.