EdTech Thursday
Each Thursday, I’ll look at a new Web 2.0 or other technology. As with the websites, I think that it is also important to discuss how to use them in the classroom. Some of these I have not used in the classroom, so it will be a case of brainstorming or seeing how others have used it. Many times we hear about something that really “Wows” us, and we put it aside to look at later. However, we never come back to it. It sits and languishes. I really believe that there needs to be a conversation on how it can be applied practically. All the theory is great but without practical analysis and insight as to how it can actually be used, a lot of teachers will just put it aside to look at “later”.
So let’s have a conversation . . .
The first site is an online brainstorming tool called bubbl.us (http://bubbl.us/). This online tool allows you to brainstorm as an individual or as a group from a multiple number of computer though not simultaneously. If you have ever used Inspiration, you’ll get the idea fairly quickly. If you haven’t . . . well, you’ll get the idea fairly quickly. It has a very intuitive nature to it. You use your mouse to manipulate the bubbles, select and zoom in and out.
The nice thing about this form of online collaboration is it’s capabilities to share. You can invite and add others to collaborate with you, print the brainstorm or embed it into your blog or website.
While it doesn’t have the colourful pictures and graphics that some other programs have, it is simple to use and colourful. As it uses a password and username, your information is safe and private allowing to make sure that only people you invite have access to it. You can also make access to it “read-only” or “full edit”.
But how can it be used in the classroom? That takes a little more thought. It’s cool, oh yes! But is it practical?
- The sharing aspect of this makes it really useful in the class. You can have groups in the computer lab adding ideas instead of the teacher getting ideas and writing them up on the board. Not only that but because it can be embedded in a blog or website, students can continue to add to it at home or print of copies as they need them.
- For a class blog, this could be a good conversation starter for parents and children as they show their parents all the things they came up with during class. In my class, we are talking about a “Big Question”: How can we make our community a safe and friendly community? With this tool, we could add our ideas to the web and parents could see what their students have been learning and maybe further the conversation and add other ideas.
- It could be used collaboratively with other classes or other students who might be able to share their ideas from around the world. In Albert, students in Grade 3 study other countries around the world. Using this tool, students could collaboratively brainstorm differences and similarities betwen their communities creating a real life sharing of ideas.
- Collaborating as a staff or groups of teachers to plan events or curriculum.
- Record lesson discussions
- Students could use the tool to help them review concepts taught for a test or project.
- Create word webs that fit a theme. Good for narrowing research questions or finding other words that mean the same thing. I might use it to list all the ly words we could. Students could continue adding them as the year went by. We could also create a word web for alternatives to boring words.
- Here is a good idea from the site http://classroom20.ning.com/: “Vocabulary could also be used with this site. Students could do a diagram for the 5 words they think are them most difficult for that week’s vocab lesson. Then they could make a word web where the main block is for the chosen vocab word. Pink blocks are for similar words that have come up in other vocab lessons. Green blocks would be for previously learned vocab words that serve as antonyms. Yellow blocks are for associations to the student’s own life. And, finally, blue blocks for tricks that might help them remember the words.Then have the students go on a scavenger hunt for all of the words that were not on their “hardest words” list.”
- Prepare ideas for a podcast or movie.
Here is an concept map to show you how it’s used:
How have you used online concept mapping in your class?
