Thing # 14

First I went to bubbl.us and played with it. The site calls them "mind maps", which reminds me a lot of the thinking maps we use today. They are definitely good for using in writing. This site could organize ideas and help students process their thoughts during the prewriting step. It would be something different than the traditional bubble map. I also went to Flowchart. These maps ar also similar to ones we use in Social Studies and Reading. They help make difficult concepts easier to grasp for students. We are now in the day and age of learning visually and kinesthetically. This site can help students see relationships or present outcomes in a way that makes sense to them. Both sites seemed to be useful and practical for school. I could use both in several subjects for various lessons. Kids are so technologically savvy that these types of things make it more fun for them to do traditional assignments. They can "play" on the computer instead and still be learning. I think it is a great thing and awesome that MISD has offered this course for teachers. I think ALL teachers should be required to take "23 Things". I am excited about the new school year and plan on trying some of these things out. Traditional classrooms will never look the same!