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Who am I?
My name is Patrizio Antonio Peluso. I have been a resource room teacher for the past three years. In addition to being a resource room teacher, I have been expanding my horizons on technology use in the classroom. I started off by first finding resources on the internet and having students work on them. My next step was to create a classroom blog and wiki for the students to post comments to. However, I thought there had to be more I could do to incorporate technology into my classroom. I enrolled at the University of Maryland University College - Educational Technology Program. During my course of studies, I learned that there is more to finding pre-created activities on the internet for students to work on, but to also create my own resources and activities for the students. I have learned how to create podcasts, screen casts, and to take advantage of resources on the free web for maximum student benefit. Some of these resources will be explained and gone over in this weeks workshop.

What is this workshop all about?
In a nutshell, it is about incorporating Web 2.0 tools into the classroom. Web 2.0 differs from the old Web in that it allows the user to create and share materials with other people around the world. Some of the tools we will be working on, are internet versions of traditional multimedia software. Other tools will expand your horizons to see how social networking plays a role in today's classroom. How will the information be provided? The information will be provided through slide shows and screen casts that will be made available to you on this website. You will also have an opportunity to work hands on with the materials presented.

What is the breakdown of the week?
Day 1 - We will spend the day creating a virtual learning environment (VLE). This is an online classroom where teachers and students can share files, blog and work on the wiki.

Day 2 - We will be using Web 2.0 to foster communication. We will be creating video blogs with a program called Glogster. Then we will create a classroom news channel using Newsmaker.

Day 3 - **Active Day** - We will be exploring two different types of online multimedia software. We will be working with Photo Peach to create slide shows that have text or voice overs. The slide shows can then be uploaded to a classroom blog, wiki, or VLE.

Day 4 - We will be exploring two different websites that support social networking in the classroom. The first website we will be dealing with is epals. This site fosters communication and collaboration with students in foreign countries. The second website we will be working with is delicious.com. This is a bookmarking and site sharing website. This website also can be used to foster collaboration on projects.

Day 5 - We will be exploring how Web 2.0 can be used to build assessments. The first website we will be working with is quia.com. Here teachers can build their own assessments and activities to measure student progress. The second website that we will be working with is puzzlemaker.com. Here teachers will practice creating their puzzles to measure student mastery of a topic.