Social Bookmarking, Concept Maps and Virtual Corkboards

Social Bookmarking

Pinterest has become a household name and has even been called an addiction by many as people spend hours looking up craft projects, recipes and of course classroom ideas. It is a great tool for finding ideas and pulling them together then organizing them into categories by personal preferences. For school, I would recommend creating a separate account for the many education options you have and especially if you wish to create a board to share with students or parents.

Pinterest

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity					X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability			X
Safety/Security	X
Availability					X	19

Pinterest is both simple and complex at the same time, just create and account and start pinning. However, you may find as time goes on that you need to further define your original categories due to the wealth of information available. As a teacher you can find resources for any topic you need to cover and I love that it pulls items from websites, shopping sites and even blogs. While it is free to everyone and available on computers, tablets and mobile devices, it does have a drawback. Nearly everything you pin becomes public, the only way to prevent this is to create "secret boards".

Concept Maps

Concepts maps are a great way to help students, especially visual learners, see, understand and then organize their own information. Teachers often print a variety of graphic organizers to help students, but with Popplet, you can create these maps digitally. Additionally, it allows students to make the connections, literally with lines, between ideas to help cement their understanding of the topics. Here is an example of a Popplet map created about the Earth:

Popplet

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity					X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability				X
Safety/Security				X
Availability					X	23

This site is easy to use and create connections between ideas. You can have students create concept maps for virtually any subject and as you can see above, you can use text or images, but it does have limited features. You must create a log in for this site, but they have recently upgraded the site's collaborative features. It is free and available to use via their website or through an iPad app.

Virtual Corkboard/sticky notes

Sticky notes have been a staple in every classroom for years. Plato said that necessity is the mother of invention, and obviously someone realized that sticky notes are a necessary part of teaching. Among others, the website and accompanying app Padlet, allows students and teachers to collaborate and brainstorm virtually. I have seen this app used in several subject areas and lessons with great success and a high level of student engagement and participation.

  

Padlet

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity					X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability					X
Safety/Security					X
Availability				X		24

This tool is very simple to use. The teacher can create an account and invite students to collaborate. Students can then comment on whatever the subject is, a book that you've read, the answer to a daily math problem or solving recess issues. This collaborative tool can be used inside your own classroom, with other classes or even other schools to share ideas and learning. If teachers create a backpack account, they can provide access to their students in multiple classes and offer a completely secure option. While you can access and create Padlets for free, you must purchase a district or teacher account in order to have this security.

Assessments, Publishing and Screencasting

Online Assessments

In our society of 21st century learners, using online assessment tools can greatly benefit students and help them become more engaged. The i-Ready assessment that our district uses as well as the state PARCC test has integrated games into the content to give kids a brain break during the test and keep the students engaged. I opted to dig in the website Kahoot. This site allows you to make your own assessments or use one of the thousands already created. Here is a video on how it works:

Kahoot

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity				X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability					X
Safety/Security					X
Availability					X	24

The site is simple to use, but teachers must take the time to set up questions and answer choices and some students had trouble logging in the first time and correctly entering the game PIN. It is a great resource for pre and formative assessments for a fun way to check learning. The site also allows the options to create discussions and surveys. It is a very safe and secure site as students don't need to enter any personal information and just need the code to play. It is also free and available for any teacher to create an account. I have seen students participate using both iPads and Chromebooks.

Online Publishing

Creating and publishing writing online is a great way to engage students in the process. Our district has a license for the Book Creator app and I have seen several teachers use it in their classes. This app allows student to write with a stylus, type their stories or even record their voice reading a story. They can also illustrate their own pictures or insert images into their creations. When their projects are complete, they can share them with others, have them printed or even upload them to YouTube.

Book Creator

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity					X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability					X
Safety/Security					X
Availability			X			23

This is a great app for students of all ages. Thanks to the recording feature, I have seen students use it as young as kindergarten. Students can use the app to teach and learn in any subject. Also, teachers can create their own books to share information with students. Since the app is self contained, it is very secure. Due to the cost and the fact that it is only available as an app and not a website, makes it less accessible than some other tools.

Screencasting

Screencasting is a great resource for teachers to create digital material to add to the lessons or to review concepts that have already been taught. Students can also use these tools for their own presentations. I chose to explore the website Prezi. On this site, students and teachers can create engaging presentations with images, videos, voice-overs and valuable information.

Prezi

Tool:	1	2	3	4	5	Totals
Simplicity			X
Learning Support					X
Versatility/Adaptability					X
Safety/Security			X
Availability			X			19

Prezi is a fairly straight forward presentation site, but it does take time to navigate all of the features and is not very "kid friendly". You can find presentations that have already been created on a variety of different subjects or you can create your own. Any presentations that you plan on using should be carefully screened for age appropriateness. Students wishing to use the site must provide their information and create an account. Their is a free option for creating presentations, but you do not have access to all of the features and your files will not be private without a paid version.