Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities

1. Concept mapping could have great influences on student learning within a classroom. Difficult concepts to understand such as complex math topics, plate tectonics, or the formation of the United States can be displayed with this technology. By setting up the map with arrows, colors and descriptions, the student may gain an understanding of the main points of the topic and not feel overwhelmed as if I explained it verbally. Students often feel overwhelmed when they are given a lot of information at once. Concept maps allow a great summary tool to display the information in the simplest way possible to eliminate this frustration. These maps also help to ensure that all learning styles are being taught to. The visual learners will benefit from the pictures and visual cues connecting the ideas, the auditory learners may benefit from the addition of sounds and explaining of the map, and the kinesthetic learners may learn best by the sorting of items in an interactive concept map. The maps may also benefit the student learning by displaying visual examples of the concept. If learning about bears, the map would include pictures of different types. The students could learn what different types look like and internalize that image for future recognition.

2. I do not think it would take much time to feel comfortable with concept mapping. I tend to get frustrated with the smallest tasks so I would be a struggle for me at first. The amount of effort it takes for the smallest task, say including a picture from the internet, seems to be way higher than it should be. That is my own personal problem though. As compared to other technologies, this program is very user-friendly and I'm sure I would have minor problems with it. It would definitely be worth the effort to learn how to use this technology. It is always important to use variety in one's teaching, so testing this out in a classroom would be beneficial.


Here is an example.

Teacher Web Reflections

1. A class website would be a useful tool in my future classroom for many reasons. I could provide links to related websites that compliment ideas and concepts discussed in class. For example, if we are learning about the planets and space, I could provide links to the NASA website and other sites with real pictures of the planets taken from space shuttles. These sites would enhance the student learning through pictures and a grasp of the real world application. The WebQuest is a useful tool. I would use WebQuest in my classroom for certain assignments that are often confusing to teach. If I want to explain how to do a project, I can easily write the steps out in a efficient manner through a Webquest on a teacher web. The third way in which I would use a teacher web is with the homework page. I would support student learning by providing their homework information on the teacher web and informing their parents about it. The parents could check online to see if their children had homework and help them progress in their studies. This process overall helps me as the teacher by ensuring that the students are completing the work to improve as a learner.

2. Students could use a class web site to enhance their learning through the use of technology. It is important that students understand the different technologies used in the world today and they will gain experience with them through the class web site. They will learn how to access sites with streaming videos, type with efficiency, use search engines for research, and navigate through different pages on the internet. All these skills will aid them in their future studies and place in the fast moving world of today. Another way in which the class site will enhance their learning is through the web resources page. The teacher can provide useful links to educational and fun web sites that help students learn. Such sites include NASA for kids, White House for kids, National Geographic for Kids and even fun Web 2.0 sites such as Webkinz. This sites have multitudes of educational information, games and pictures to aid in student learning and they are easily accessible through the class site.


3. I believe the two strongest features or page types within the Teacher Web system were the ability to write test questions using a variety of different question types and the class grading system. Teachers can write multiple choice, short answer, true/false and essay questions and choose whether or not the students can see their results. The site can email them straight to the teacher or the students can see the results for their own improvement. It is really easy to write the test questions with this layout. You have free range as a teacher to be creative with your assessment and easily grade them. The class grading system is extremely useful as well. Students and parents always want to know the updated grades as soon as possible. With this application, they can easily access the class grades through the class web site without asking me as the teacher. It saves time for everyone involved. The teacher can set up the grading system so students have to enter an ID to check their grades. This ensures privacy amongst the class which is very important. The students can then see the grades for all their class assignments as I update them.