For class this week I investigated a website designed to aid students with studying. The website can be found at www.smartfm.com.
This site has some pre-made study topics, but it also allows you to put your own topic and information into a template. Once you have selected/created a topic, the website will take you through a preview of what you will learn, then display the information, then quiz you on the information. I find this website extremely beneficial! I would definitely take the time in a high school classroom to explicitly teach students how to use this website because it helps students study. This is particularly helpful to students who do not have parents at home available to help them study. It not only helps the students learn the material, but it helps them learn how to study.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Choice week 11
For this week, I explored an online argument mapping system called Amap. This can be found at http://www.amap.org.uk.
This website allows the user to create a visual representation of an argument with prompts for supportive statements and reasoning for the argument. This is a great way to scaffold students for creating arguments, but it only allows students to add one side of an argument. It is also important for students to be able to predict statements for the opposing arguments. In a classroom, I would not explicitly teach students about this technology, but I would provide them with the URL so that they might explore it on their own time. While I see this as an interesting tool to use, I do not think it would greatly benefit the majority of the students in a class.
I have included an example of an argument map created by this site below.
This website allows the user to create a visual representation of an argument with prompts for supportive statements and reasoning for the argument. This is a great way to scaffold students for creating arguments, but it only allows students to add one side of an argument. It is also important for students to be able to predict statements for the opposing arguments. In a classroom, I would not explicitly teach students about this technology, but I would provide them with the URL so that they might explore it on their own time. While I see this as an interesting tool to use, I do not think it would greatly benefit the majority of the students in a class.
I have included an example of an argument map created by this site below.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Choice Week 9
For this week, I explored an online writing tool that I heard about through a different class. This website, called "novlet", can be found at http://www.novlet.com/.
The site is intended to allow people to build off of each other's stories, branching off at any point in the story that they would like to change. If you have ever played the game where one person begins a story then passes it along for another person to continue, it is very similar to that.
The good: This is a great way to foster motivation for writing! This is an entertaining way to change the course of stories and practice writing skills. It can also motivate students to read more than they usually might because they need to read the story and it's branches to figure out where they want to add their own pieces.
The bad: While this is a cool tool to use, it is not monitored. There are sections of the website that would not be appropriate for school aged students and there is no way, as far as I can tell, for teachers to censor the website. The tone of the website is also very relaxed, therefore the writing style that it elicits is also very relaxed, also with poor grammar and language usage.
The ugly: The website itself is also very difficult to navigate. Searching for the story that you are interested in becomes difficult and it is easily frustrating.
All in all, I would not use this tool in a classroom, especially with younger students. I may suggest it to older students who are interested in writing as an extracurricular activity.
The site is intended to allow people to build off of each other's stories, branching off at any point in the story that they would like to change. If you have ever played the game where one person begins a story then passes it along for another person to continue, it is very similar to that.
The good: This is a great way to foster motivation for writing! This is an entertaining way to change the course of stories and practice writing skills. It can also motivate students to read more than they usually might because they need to read the story and it's branches to figure out where they want to add their own pieces.
The bad: While this is a cool tool to use, it is not monitored. There are sections of the website that would not be appropriate for school aged students and there is no way, as far as I can tell, for teachers to censor the website. The tone of the website is also very relaxed, therefore the writing style that it elicits is also very relaxed, also with poor grammar and language usage.
The ugly: The website itself is also very difficult to navigate. Searching for the story that you are interested in becomes difficult and it is easily frustrating.
All in all, I would not use this tool in a classroom, especially with younger students. I may suggest it to older students who are interested in writing as an extracurricular activity.
Google Docs
I absolutely love Google Docs for several reasons.
First, It makes collaboration between busy members of a group much much easier. When I have been in group projects, Google Docs. has allowed me to work on the project with other members of my group at the same time, while communicating with them about the project. I have also used Google Docs to submit assignments for classes. Aside from saving paper, this makes it much easier to get feedback from instructors and edit my work to the corrections provided.
I do not, however, think that using googledocs for the sake of using cool technology is beneficial. I have also used googledocs in classes simply to use it. When no editing, revising, or collaboration will take place, I think it is just as easy to email the document.
First, It makes collaboration between busy members of a group much much easier. When I have been in group projects, Google Docs. has allowed me to work on the project with other members of my group at the same time, while communicating with them about the project. I have also used Google Docs to submit assignments for classes. Aside from saving paper, this makes it much easier to get feedback from instructors and edit my work to the corrections provided.
I do not, however, think that using googledocs for the sake of using cool technology is beneficial. I have also used googledocs in classes simply to use it. When no editing, revising, or collaboration will take place, I think it is just as easy to email the document.
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