Essential Question
What have I learned thus far in the class?
Assignment Five Standards
3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
How will I meet the standards?
3a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
You will meet this standard by trying out and assisting others with concept-mapping and mind-mapping software.
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
You will meet this standard by collaborating with your colleagues in the Blog.
3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
You will meet this standard by exploring and ultimately recommending a concept mapping software to other members of the class. In addition, this standard is met through the documentation of additional resources in your Diigo library.
You will meet this standard by trying out and assisting others with concept-mapping and mind-mapping software.
3b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
You will meet this standard by collaborating with your colleagues in the Blog.
3d. Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
You will meet this standard by exploring and ultimately recommending a concept mapping software to other members of the class. In addition, this standard is met through the documentation of additional resources in your Diigo library.
Tasks Due
What | Where | When |
Explore the resources related to Concept Mapping. Post your definition of concept mapping and your understanding of why concept mapping is important in the classroom to the group discussion board. This should be your own definition in your own words - not something copied and pasted from the internet. | In the Definition of Concept Map Blog | Tuesday by midnight. |
Try out at least one concept mapping tool. You need not try out all of them. Inform your group of the software that works best for you and why you like this tool. | In the Concept Software Discussion Blog | Thursday by Midnight |
Help your group mates to troubleshoot and try out concept mapping software. Complete your concept map. | In the Concept Software Discussion Blog | Over the next two weeks |
Post your concept map of the things you have learned thus far in the class to the Journal, along with your rationale and uploaded concept map in a .jpg or link in a Google Doc. | Journal | Friday by midnight |
Trying things Out
This week, you are truly going to be engaged in an inquiry-based and a constructivist environment. This week - you are being asked to construct a definition of Concept Mapping and explain why it is a good strategy in the classroom. In addition, you are being asked to explore different tools for creating Concept Maps, and to assist your colleagues in this exploration. At the end of the week you will create a concept map demonstrating your learning in the course thus far.
The goal is to try out one or more of these programs independently, and to help your colleagues with them. Therefore, I won't be walking you through their use! I did however include some tutorials and examples of use in the Diigo list. www.diigo.com/outliner/5d5d4h/Rubric?key=7zin7jch0v You need not try out ALL of these programs. I only want to you to have the option to choose the program that is the most intuitive for you - and that meets your own bandwidth needs.
If you don't want to download a program, your best option is Mindmeister, which is online - it doesn't require a download, and you can try it out and work with it online while avoiding long download speeds. In addition, once you log into Mindmeister, you will be presented with a helpful tutorial which you can skip if you wish.
If you want a very easy-to-use download, you will wish to try out Inspiration. This program will require you to download it, but once it is downloaded, it is very easy to use. If you believe you will be teaching younger students (K-6) you may wish to download Kidspiration. Its visual and intuitive interface is very user friendly and as the title suggests even very young students will enjoy the connections that may be made in this interface.
I encourage you not to stress about this assignment! The only way to do this assignment incorrectly is to avoid doing it! As we step into the world of technology, we step into a world of constant change, in which our favorite comfortable software may be updated in a heartbeat. All at once, that software program that we were so fond of and comfortable with looks unfamiliar and we find ourselves once again in the mode of learner and troubleshooter. It isn't reasonable that a professional development session will be available each time the technology changes! Sometimes, we have to be our own teachers while we are also in the uncomfortable position of novice technology user. If we have a supportive group to work with, we can manage this change much more easily. The whole point of our activity this week is to allow you to be both teacher and learner within your group.
The goal is to try out one or more of these programs independently, and to help your colleagues with them. Therefore, I won't be walking you through their use! I did however include some tutorials and examples of use in the Diigo list. www.diigo.com/outliner/5d5d4h/Rubric?key=7zin7jch0v You need not try out ALL of these programs. I only want to you to have the option to choose the program that is the most intuitive for you - and that meets your own bandwidth needs.
If you don't want to download a program, your best option is Mindmeister, which is online - it doesn't require a download, and you can try it out and work with it online while avoiding long download speeds. In addition, once you log into Mindmeister, you will be presented with a helpful tutorial which you can skip if you wish.
If you want a very easy-to-use download, you will wish to try out Inspiration. This program will require you to download it, but once it is downloaded, it is very easy to use. If you believe you will be teaching younger students (K-6) you may wish to download Kidspiration. Its visual and intuitive interface is very user friendly and as the title suggests even very young students will enjoy the connections that may be made in this interface.
I encourage you not to stress about this assignment! The only way to do this assignment incorrectly is to avoid doing it! As we step into the world of technology, we step into a world of constant change, in which our favorite comfortable software may be updated in a heartbeat. All at once, that software program that we were so fond of and comfortable with looks unfamiliar and we find ourselves once again in the mode of learner and troubleshooter. It isn't reasonable that a professional development session will be available each time the technology changes! Sometimes, we have to be our own teachers while we are also in the uncomfortable position of novice technology user. If we have a supportive group to work with, we can manage this change much more easily. The whole point of our activity this week is to allow you to be both teacher and learner within your group.
Due by Friday (Two weeks for this assignment)
Create your own concept map, which demonstrates the connections you have made in terms of the concepts we've explored since the beginning of the course. I encourage you to be detailed with this concept map. Feel free to insert images, links, or videos that have been important to you in terms of your learning to this point! Each person's concept map will be different - and that is to be expected! We all have made our own connections and those connections are quite valid!
In addition, you will include a rationale of your concept map. Please don't overcomplicate this assignment! You need not write a "term paper". You are simply explaining why you connected the nodes that you created in your concept map in the way that you connected them. This doesn't have to be a formal paper at all. The rationale should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced. It's important for me to see the connections you made, but equally important to see WHY you made those connections. This is one-half of the grade for the concept map.
Finally, I ask that after you save the concept map as a .jpg file (or make a screenshot of it) you insert it into a Microsoft Word Google Document that contains the rationale and attach the shareable link in your journal for grading. Please do not save it as a Microsoft Word Document that needs to be downloaded. If you have problems with this and wish to share the concept map in a different way (i.e. online with Prezi) that is fine - just please put the link to your concept map at the first of your document so that I can locate it. I do ask, though, if you are using Inspiration, Vue, CMap or Kidspiration you save as a .jpeg and insert the map into your paper - because I will not have all of these programs locally on my computer.
You are supporting each other through the blog this week, in terms of providing feedback on the concept maps that your teammates submit. Your feedback should focus on the relationship of the rationale to the concept map. Do you understand the connections that your teammates have made and why those connections occur in the way that they do?
I look forward to your work this week!
The concept map is evaluated with the Concept Map Rubric.
In addition, you will include a rationale of your concept map. Please don't overcomplicate this assignment! You need not write a "term paper". You are simply explaining why you connected the nodes that you created in your concept map in the way that you connected them. This doesn't have to be a formal paper at all. The rationale should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced. It's important for me to see the connections you made, but equally important to see WHY you made those connections. This is one-half of the grade for the concept map.
Finally, I ask that after you save the concept map as a .jpg file (or make a screenshot of it) you insert it into a Microsoft Word Google Document that contains the rationale and attach the shareable link in your journal for grading. Please do not save it as a Microsoft Word Document that needs to be downloaded. If you have problems with this and wish to share the concept map in a different way (i.e. online with Prezi) that is fine - just please put the link to your concept map at the first of your document so that I can locate it. I do ask, though, if you are using Inspiration, Vue, CMap or Kidspiration you save as a .jpeg and insert the map into your paper - because I will not have all of these programs locally on my computer.
You are supporting each other through the blog this week, in terms of providing feedback on the concept maps that your teammates submit. Your feedback should focus on the relationship of the rationale to the concept map. Do you understand the connections that your teammates have made and why those connections occur in the way that they do?
I look forward to your work this week!
The concept map is evaluated with the Concept Map Rubric.