Glogster and Delicious

Both Glogster and Delicious seem like great Web 2.0 tools to help a teacher when trying to incorporate technology in the classroom. Glogster allows students to create posters/webpages where they can add text, graphics, videos, and more. Teachers can use this tool to present new topics instead of using PowerPoints, have students create an About Me page, or allow the class to reflect on a book or science project. Delicious has similar technical applications because it is a way for teachers/students to store web bookmarks that can be recalled from any computer. A teacher can create a WebQuest activity where students log into Delicious and have all the sites readily available. Also, students can store links to sites they are using in an on-going project so that they can access the sites from home or another computer without having to copy down the URL addresses. Both of these tools are ways teachers can differentiate their instruction and aid in a technological classroom environment.

However, I do not see much use for these tools in my future Mathematics classrooms. Glogster seems like a tool that students would use to explain art, literature, or an activity; however, it is not seem very applicable to practicing math problems or formulas. Also, using the tool, requires some artistic abilities and creative thinking where as Mathematics is more scientific. Students could experiment with this tool to explain a formula in colorful/pictorial ways; however, I do not see myself requiring the use of this tool in my classroom. Also, Delicious seems like a tool I would suggest as an option but not required. If I ever gave students a WebQuest activity during a day in the computer lab, I might have students log into one Delicious account so that I know they are using the correct sites. However, I cannot think of many Mathematics projects in a high school setting that require the use of multiple websites. This tool is more geared towards research based ideas or exploratory activities which are not usually mathematical. I might create an extra-credit activity for students to research careers that use Mathematics; however, I do not see myself trying to incorporate using either of these tools into the curriculum.