The flexibility and ubiquitous reach that Web 2.0 tools offer educators have revolutionized the field at all levels, from the classroom to administration and the level of policy making. While those in the early childhood field often seem to be more reluctant to use these tools than those in higher levels, access to social media and other highly interactive online approaches can be quite impactful not only in reaching young students but also parents, colleagues, administrators and policy makers.
In my issue of creating a Multicultural Media Lab for my school, two tools that I feel would be very effective would be a wiki (such as can be found at wikispaces.com) and video sharing platforms (in particular YouTube and Vimeo).
A wiki would allow me to post news, information, tips, and other types of media including audio and video pertinent to the needs of bilingual students and multicultural learners. It would also allow interactivity in the form of comments, follow up posts from other members of my wikis community, and the ability to add to or edit previous posts.
The creation of a You Tube page and a Vimeo Page would allow me to feature and call for submissions of videos from bilingual students and educators about particular topics of interest.
As all great Web 2.0 tools do, the wiki and be linked with the You Tube and Vimeo pages to create a total experience and presence within the online world.
