My Favorite Web2.0 Tools

My definition
To me Web2.0 is any website or tool that promotes the sharing of information and collaboration and does so through the internet. I think that Web2.0 can be any website where you interactively share information with one another. It could be anything from Facebook or Twitter to blogs or Wikipedia.

TinyURL
TinyURL is a very cool tool that takes your long URL's and condenses them into a small URL. The website is very easy to use. All that you do is copy the URL that you want to be condensed and then paste it into the box on their website. It then turns your URL into a very short, condense URL. I really like that it gives you the option of customizing your URL as well. This way if you want something that you can easily remember or want a URL that relates to your page, you can easily do so. I also like that you can very easily add the tool to the toolbar on your browser. Then all you have to do is click the toolbar and it will make a URL for the website that you are visiting.

As far as increasing productivity, this website allows you to condense URL's that often times don't always work because of their format. You then eliminate a lot of the hassle that is involved with sharing a lengthy URL with others. Additionally, TinyURL makes things look much more professional in an email or blog. This is very important when trying to make a good impression.

ScreenToaster
ScreenToaster is another very cool tool that can easily and effectively be used in the classroom. ScreenToaster allows you to record all on screen action that you are doing on your computer. For example you could easily record a PowerPoint, or record how to insert a chart in Word. Once you are done recording you are given a few options. You can either save it to your computer, save it on their website, or upload it to YouTube. ScreenToaster is also very easy to use and very straight forward. You also have the option of viewing other videos that have been produced using ScreenToaster.

The uses of ScreenToaster in the classroom are seemingly endless. It is such a neat thing that so many teachers and students can easily utilize. Anything that you do on your computer can be easily recorded, which I am absolutely amazed by. Say, for example, that a student misses school because they are sick. The teacher can simply upload what they did in class to YouTube and the student can easily catch up on what they missed. Teachers could also post lessons captured by ScreenToaster to their blogs for students to review. You can use it to record presentations, demonstrations, webcams, literally everything that you can do on your computer. ScreenToaster is an amazing tool that I plan on utilizing in my classroom.