Tag: organizing

Stories of Learning: Christopher Columbus Creates 21st Century Explorers

Kelly Tenkely1 Comment on Stories of Learning: Christopher Columbus Creates 21st Century Explorers2816 views

Yesterday, Silvia Tolisano of Langwitches Blog (The Magic of Learning) shared an incredible story of learning.  After reading through her post I asked if I could share the story here and she graciously agreed.  Siliva and the fifth grade teacher she worked with did an incredible job of letting her students take charge of their learning.  It has been so successful that her students want to continue learning and connecting their knowledge about Christopher Columbus.  I love that Silvia’s story of learning begins with a glimpse of what the planning for the learning looked like.  Silvia lets us peek inside the intentional planning and organizing of the learning.  Using an iPad and the iThoughtsHD app, Silvia and the fifth grade teacher planned a unit on Christopher Columbus that went beyond the textbook and exposed them to authentic research,  multiple perspectives, and the opportunity to come up with their own conclusions about the “hero” status of Christopher Columbus in the United States.  The results are truly incredible. You can read this awesome story of learning at my blog Stories of Learning or directly from Silvia’s blog.

Webspiration

Kelly Tenkely2 Comments on Webspiration2233 views

 

What it is: You have most likely heard about the popular visual thinking software called Inspiration (or Kidspiration).  Webspiration is a new online version of the visual thinking outlining and organizing.  Webspiration has many of the same features as Inspiration but is free to use and allows for collaborative visual thinking.  Webspiration is perfect for planning, organizing research, and completing projects successfully from beginning to end.  Brainstorming and outlining tools help students organize thoughts for papers and research projects.  Collaboration on Webspiration documents is simple and allows for same document contributing, posting, comments, and viewing changes.  Concept maps and diagrams are created easily with Webspiration.  Visual diagrams and graphic organizers, such as those created with Webspiration, help students retain information.  

 

How to integrate Webspiration into the classroom:    Webspiration is a great tool for the classroom.  Teach elementary age students how to visually organize information using concept maps, venn diagrams, and KWL charts.  Basic outlining skills can also be taught in the elementary classroom using Webspiration.  As students get older, Webspiration helps them take control of and organize their own learning.  Teachers can create concept maps and invite students to collaborate and help fill in information.  These online graphic organizers are wonderful for students, they contribute to filling it in and can access it from any Internet connected computer, iPod, or phone to study from later.

 

Tips:   Webspiration is currently in beta, if you notice any glitches or have ideas for additional features let Webspiration know!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Webspiration in your classroom.