Module 5

Smooth sailing to this point…but this one was a doozy!

Man, was this one loooong module. Ok, let’s start with ‘Bubbl.us’ In my classroom, I’m very fond of making a brainstorm or two on my board. Bubbl.us is an online brainstorm program. It is simple enough to use, and I can see it definitely being motivating to see bold, beautiful coloured boxes containing the information you need. I guess my only criticism would be – is this program going to save me time when I am doing a class brainstorm in my lesson…probably not. Could the children use it when they have to brainstorm individually…absolutely. I think this would make a great assessment tool to see if the child knows how certain aspects are interrelated to each other.

Glogster helps to create online posters. I was pumped to try it out when I saw how awesome the examples looked. Then came the sad realisation, that I am nowhere near creative enough to add all the elements the examples did. The site and each element took a little bit of getting used to, but once I got the hang of it, I started enjoying myself. I can definitely see this being an asset to children in the classroom – making the presentation of their work so much more hi-tech and motivating for them. Here is my simple example of my glog. I have incorporated my bubbl.us brainstorm in there too. Warning, it’s pretty boring.
http://rowena06.glogster.com/web-20-bubbl/

Finally, ‘Prezi’ – an online presentation – taking PowerPoint to a new level. Creating the presentation was easy enough. The tutorials that Prezi provide are simple, straightforward and step-by-step (just what I needed). Classroom wise, I can see this program resonating the same response as ‘bubbl.us’. Is it going to save me time…probably not. Will it assist in my lessons being more motivating…absolutely. Can I see this being used by the children to assist in their learning…yes. Similar to Glogster, I can see the children working on a task and presenting it via the web. Oh, here is my (again) simple example of what Prezi can do.
http://prezi.com/_ebpbp6nctij/caring-for-all-creation/

Hmmm, I think that was all. I’m starting to see double and my take-away container of Skittles is starting to look pretty thin. Until next module…