Journal #4

Journal 4
“Storytelling in the Web 2.0 Era”
By: Glenn Bull

This journal discusses the advances in technology and user participation. In today’s internet age, the web serves as a platform for lightweight applications created by users. For example, individuals can use user created programs such as Flickr, Blogger, MySpace, and YouTube. All of these programs are available for free. Furthermore, the web allows for sharing and “remixing” between users. One of the great things about the internet today is that it is a collaborative effort. Individuals can write blogs that attach audio and web site links. In the educational setting, the web serves as a great tool because it is informative, easy to use, and free. Many schools have tight budgets and spending is very limited. Students can gain an understanding of technology and internet through programs that are free. This was illustrated by Mr. Levine, teacher, who created 50 different ways on the web to tell a story about his dog. He used many different story telling tools and broke them down into categories. The categories for story telling tools consisted of Slide Show, Timeline, Mapping, Comic, Scrap book, Media, and Mixer. He then talks about some beneficial programs that are out there. These programs consisted of Xtimeline, Google Map, Torpedo, and Voice Thread. All of these programs are free and aide in the easy of educational development for the students.

Questions:

1. What about censorship?
One of the great ideas about the free internet programs is that they are collaborative in effort. Thus, individuals work together in order to make sites clean. It is not just up to one person to monitor all the efforts of the program. In blogger, peers can flag another peers blog if they feel there is offensive or obscene material on the blog. The collaborative approach also applies to Wiki programs such as Wikipedia.

2. How it be used in the classroom and will children be able to figure out these programs?
Each program is very instructive and easy to use. For example, google map can be used in geography or math classes. Students in this day of age are very good at understanding programs and the program's abilities. They learn very quickly because they have grown up in a technological age.