This is a pretty exciting topic in terms of technologies and what there is to use in the world, ALSO, what is still yet to be created, or even just the upgrades and advances on the current tools that are already being used! There is a plethora of incredible tools out there for you to use, some specifically designed to be best used with certain subjects, some designed for use ONLY on one or two particular subjects, and others that can be used for anything you wish them to be used for!
Bubble.Us is one of those tools! As you can see from the concept map at the beginning of this blog, it is a very easy map to look at; it is fun, creative, colourful, and SO EASY to create! I have no doubt that even the least technologically advanced people can enjoy creating one of these concept maps. They would be great to use in a brainstorming session in your class - up on an interactive whiteboard, so the students can see their ideas come to life and extend on the ideas in front of them, taking a little bit of time to look at other students/teacher's ideas and develop on those with things they hadn't even previously thought of! You could even add names to each bubble as you add it, to show whose idea it was and give them credit for it. These concept maps can then be printed out & used a resource in class, either on an A3 page to hang in the classroom, or printed as numerous smaller copies to give to the students. This is a great tool to enhance Social constructivism in your class - getting everyone working together in a fun way! It could also be used for brainstorming tasks individually or in small groups.
The trilogy presented in our group 4 technologies tools are specifically quite good for educational purposes when connecting with other people nationally/internationally. To show my students different birthplaces of famous playwrights or where they lived and put on their plays; addresses and locations of famous/popular/unknown performance spaces (Google Maps!).
You can then follow on, and extend from this idea with Google Maps, and use Google Earth to show real time (well, satellite time) footage of these places and performance spaces. It is actually so very incredible that we can broadcast an ACTUAL English Theatre in the Rounds to our students without going on a Drama/History camp to another continent!
Google Docx lets you connect and share information, either created by you and your students, or by the other people - wherever they are in the world - e.g. scholars/actors/students. Specifically tying it back into Maps/Earth, you can show the people who now work at these places, or someone can literally give you a virtual tour of a modern space. This also allows the students to collaborate and create with outside influence! AMAZING!!
Finally! I found that using this cool little tool, Zooburst - while great for working with younger primary students for digital storybooks - could also be used in a Drama class as a drafting method. If students were to have a unit of work that revolved around puppets, and they needed to put on their own Puppet show, this could be used as a terrific tool for creating their draft of the show; making it interactive and fun to create, view and share! This may also be a lot more interesting and attention captivating for some students that aren't particularly interested in physically drawing the puppets and pictures themselves. This is just one option that Zooburst could be used for!
I quite love a lot of technology, and I love exploring and playing with it all when I have the time, I know that there is no doubt in my mind that children work better with these kinds of tools implemented in their classrooms. When used correctly, they can be extremely effective - and interactive! - learning and teaching tools. Technology - when it works - really is AMAZING!!! We just need to learn to use it correctly and most effectively for our particular students.
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