Mind Mapping

Mind Mapping

Assignment:  Use Inspiration or other Mind Mapping tool.
 

Uses in the Classroom: Mind Mapping is a wonderful tool to use in the classroom to help the students visualize how information is connected or related to the unit being studied. 

I would have the students use Inspiration or other Mind Mapping tools in Social Studies.  Social Studies can sometimes be very difficult for students to connect people or places to events or other people or places.  By creating a Mind Map students can see how the different topics in a chapter are related and be able to analyze the events of history better.
 

Issues to Consider: Not all schools have Inspiration and therefore it is important to have a back up free program available.  It is also important to find out the school policy on downloading free software.
 

Copyright: The information I used to build the Mind Map about Harriet Tubman I got from PBS-Harriet Tubman.  The pictures I used were built into the Inspiration program.

 

 

 

Photo Editing

Photo Editing

Assignment:  Using Photo Editing Software to Edit Photos

Uses in the Classroom: Photo editing can make a mundane project become extraordinary!  In my classroom I would have the students create a Science book about their local ecosystem.  The students would be broken up into groups.  Each group would be giving a category to find such as, plants, animals, bugs, fungus, etc.  Each group would take photos of the examples that they find for their category.  After the pictures are taken, I would have the students use a photo editing program such as Photo Shop Elements to alter their photos to make them more pleasing. It is important that the students learn to capture and highlight the example and cut out the extra unneeded items from the picture.  This will help the students to create an extraordinary project.
By having the students learn how to edit their photos, they are being taught how to put personal touches onto their project. They will analyze each photo for what is important for their project and what is unneeded.  This type of project will also give the students a chance to be creative with their project.
 

Issues to Consider:  Not all schools have digital cameras or photo editing software.  It is important to work closely with the technology department to make sure all the items are available. 

Copyright:  The photo I edited was found on Flickr.  Pink Flower  The Author of the photo is Kumaravel Thangaraj.  The Creative Commons license on the photo is CC BY 2.0.


 

Infographs

Assignment:  Making an Infograph
 

Uses in the Classroom: An infograph can be used in the classroom as a visual reminder of information that has been learned.  It can also be used as a visual introduction to new material.  Infographs are a great way to organize information in a way that is visual and easy to understand at a quick glance. 

The infograph  I created I would use in the lower elementary grades.  I would probably use it in 1st-4th grades.  In these grades, students are learning about the different parts of speech; nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.  The infograph is just a quick explanation on the different parts of speech and gives them a visual reminder what each term means. 
 

Issues to Consider:  It is important to make sure that all graphics used to make an infograph are legally allowed to be used under their copyright. 

Another issue to consider is that some fonts and colors are difficult to read and see.  It is important to use fonts and colors that are visually pleasing and also easy to read and see.

Copyright:  Everything that I used for my infograph was provided by the program Easl.ly.com . 

 

Instructional Video

Assignment:   Instructional Video on The Revolutionary War
 

Uses in the Classroom: Instructional Videos are a good way to introduce topics to students.  They are also a good way to show students how to do something. 

The video I created I would use in a 5th grade classroom at the beginning of the Social Studies unit on the Revolutionary War.  After the video I would discuss the events with the students.  After discussing the material, I would break the students up into groups, pick one of the events of the Revolutionary War, and have them reenact it or create an informational video on the event.

Issues to Consider: Many classrooms do not have their own set of computers to use.  If classroom computers are not available, a computer lab will need to be reserved for several days.  It is also important to make sure the school has software and equipment that the students can use to make their video.

Copyright: The students need to be reminded to abide by copyright laws. The program I used for my video was Microsoft PowerPoint.  I also used the Creative Commons website to search for material I could legally use for my video.