Quit Playing Games With My... Brain?

         Web 2.0 tools are a very important part of modern curriculum not only because they open the door to new ways of learning and teaching but they also push the boundaries of how students receive information relevant to their learning style. There's an app I have used called Duolingo and its use is to teach foreign language. The app works very well for me and teaches me in such a way that sitting in a classroom cannot. Mobile apps are a great Web 2.0 tool because there are so convenient and interactive which maintain attention and are also relatively fun! Although Web 2.0 tools are completely necessary, a teacher would be shooting themselves in the foot if they did not take advantage of all the great learning tools available these days.
         One Web 2.0 website I found is called http://jott.com/ This app allows users with the same app to interact via group chat regardless of having service or not. It's used off of Bluetooth and wifi. What it does is it allows users who have the same app to create a group and interact with each other. It's useful in many scenarios for example school field trips, group work in class, or while playing a game. There's no need for phone numbers, just to join the group chat you want to be in. Although this may be difficult to apply to classrooms due to most phone rules at schools, I can definitely see this being used on a educational field trip to a museum or park so students can talk and compare observations without direct communication.
         I think that gamification is going to be the biggest addition to modern teaching. Who doesn't love to play games? Students learn while adding fun, competition, and use of new technology. I thik gamification seems most important because when I was in school this wasn't really an option. iPhones and iPads didn't exist until the later years of high school and at that point they were still to new to be really integrated into modern teaching curriculum. Teachers of all grade levels can use this tool to empower students and show them that education can be fun and playful instead of so serious and mundane. With technology advancing every single day, I don't see a future where gamification isn't part of the average day in a classroom setting.