tt4t_016 End of the semester - A new beginning

It’s Friday, December 14, 2007 and welcome to Episode 16 of Tech Talk 4 Teachers, I’m Tom Grissom. One more final exam to go and then the semester is officially over. My first post for this blog at the beginning of this semester way back in August was called “a new beginning”. And now as we end the semester I would like to leave with the same philosophy as when we began. I always tell my classes that their learning is just beginning. The students have learned many new skills and have become aware of the potential technology has to offer teachers but they are only beginning to learn. It seems a common misconception for students is to think that they are finished learning once a course is over, yet to be honest, we are never finished learning. Next semester the cycle will begin again. There is always more to learn and I want my students to take what knowledge they have learned this semester and add to it, apply it, and refine it over the coming years for their future endeavors.

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Tom’s Technology Pick of the Week

My Technology pick of the week this week is a website that has a listing of up-and-coming Web 2.0 companies that bills itself as the “Complete Web 2.0 Directory”. To demonstrate that we are truly in the beginning of innovations regarding Web 2.0 technologies please visit the website called go2web20.net A link is provided in the show notes:

http://www.go2web20.net/

This site gives a listing and overview of the hundreds of Web 2.0 companies currently in development. When you visit the site click on the purple tab in the lower left hand corner to see additional pages. If you are looking for a specific company click in the search box at the top of the page (next to the magnifying glass) and begin typing. The page will update and refine the search with each letter that you type in a Web 2.0ish kind of way.

As of Friday December 14, 2007 this site had 1859 listings for Web 2.0 companies.

http://www.go2web20.net/about/

So if you think you know everything there is to know about Web 2.0 you haven’t been listening! With the rapid pace of development it is impossible to know everything about the fast-paced world of Web 2.0 The key thing for teachers is being able to recognize promising technologies that have practical applications in the classroom. Stay tuned to TechTalk4Teachers as we continue on this never ending search of finding more effective and efficient technologies for your classroom.


Show notes for Episode 16 and previous episodes are available on the web at techtalk4techers.blogspot.com that’s techtalk the number 4 teachers.blogspot.com If you have a comment or suggestion for a future show or a suggestion for a Technology Pick of the Week then please email me at techtalk@eiu.edu. That wraps it up for this episode of TechTalk4Teachers so until next time this is Tom Grissom, keep on learning.