The number of online content creation and content sharing tools available for students and teachers seems to be growing by the day. Wonderful tools like Prezi, Animoto, WallWisher, and Voki fill the pages of some of my favorite ed-tech blogs where educators discuss authentic ways students can use each application to create and share original content.
On the other end of the spectrum is educator or publisher created content in the form of instructional animations, virtual manipulatives, practice activities and games that can be integrated into classroom instruction. (For a discussion of each of these four types of content, please visit this post at The Interactive Content Corner:
http://interactivecontentcorner.com/2009/06/05/categorizing-interactive-content)
So, why use this type of content in your classroom? Why not just stick with content creation and sharing tools? And what is wrong with just using books, paper, and pencils to teach basic concepts like we always have?
There are many reasons to use interactive content in the classroom, but I