Shannon_Gillett

Saturday, April 24, 2010

BP12_2010043_One-Minute-Message #2

One Minute Video 2

aMap
http://www.amap.org.uk/

Thursday, April 22, 2010

BP11_2010043_link to a comment on another blog

Link to comment on Blog:

http://billyc3.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp92010043web-20-tool-3-notesync.html?showComment=1272130797034_AIe9_BFw-QxxVKQEUwLqqIz2nvxvnWC24-d3lXdJtVigFekAo9zmz2FBUcqkWOTZ1F9LPClRS8HrZXGZjZs44-F1b2hhaGFZW8UBsgjVESdusrVWd0BQna7kP3WcEE9bJFj4wwX1L5BB6jDLoA_1ZG0237LR0z137-Jq1J63vSwcdzhbS-DQpWKCwSWVpr21HyWGfeRKgwnBj5A6gv77XN3xlSYFVScR7hP8ea964RJOS-TCLICm7hE#c6718847207937146320

BP10_2010043_Link to comment on another blog

Screen shot of comment to Jeffrey Gordon's blog post with link:
http://jeffreygordonblogs.blogspot.com/2010/04/bp92010043web20tools3betterme.html

BP9_2010043_Web2.0Tool: aMap

(http://newsmomsneed.marchofdimes.com/?tag=children-fighting)

Web 2.0 Tools: aMap
http://www.amap.org.uk/

Researching for a Web 2.0 tool this week I had a mission. We have had a horrible week in Florida. Not one, but two stories of brutal violent attacks on students by students has really left my heart heavy and has left me wondering why some of our children think it is ok to solve problems this way. I think the truth is schools are becoming responsible for teaching more and more of what used to be taught at home. Gratitude, empathy, compassion, limits, are issues that are increasingly lacking in the classroom and social settings of our kids. There is a growing movement for this type of education in the classroom as it becomes evident that these are skills that need to be taught. “In the coming school year and beyond, teachers, and policy makers will develop and advocate for programs that leverage the best practices of two intersecting movements: character education and social and emotional learning (SEL). Activities and standards based on topics such as conflict resolution, violence prevention, and communication skills are expanding throughout the regular school day as a movement to bring values and personal strategies into public school classrooms gathers steam.” (Bernard, 2008)

So I started wondering what was available that I could use to introduce life skills, critical thinking and personal analysis. There are many tool out there for character education, however, I found a really great tool that teaches students how to argue!
I love the idea behind this site. “aMap is short for ‘argument map’. The idea’s very simple – to promote the art of arguing by mapping out complex debates in a simple visual format.” (Delib, 2008)

This site uses the informal logic structure to set up a visual map of arguments. It is broken up into four parts.

-Your position (I think…)-what you think overall
-Propositions (Because…)-reasons that support your position
-Arguments (As…)-supporting arguments that back up each of your positions
-Evidence (Supported by…)-supporting evidence to back up your argument.
(http//.www.amap.org.uk/about/)

There are many different ways to continue and share your arguments.
You can create your own aMap and send it to your friends, school group, teacher, etc. who can then add to the argument you create. This is all done in a logical and structured system. I think that teaching them a constructive way to share different opinions and beliefs can lead to meaningful discussion and less violence.
The process teaches critical thinking skills, rational discussion, rules that teach how to communicate when you disagree, and much more. This is a fun, not very time consuming, interactive site that really hits a niche in a much needed area.

References:
Bernard,S. (2008). Schools Cultivate the Character Development of their Students. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/whats-next-2008-character-education
Delib. (2008). About aMap. Retrieved from http://www.amap.org.uk/about/

Sunday, April 18, 2010

BP520100402_Web2.0Tools #2: Symbaloo

(Symbaloo, 2010)

Symbaloo
http://www.symbaloo.com/us/

I have done some research this week on the different types of start pages or personalized dashboards that are available as Web 2.0 tools. The one that I really like the most is the Symbaloo.com site. I like this one because of its ease of use with students. I have seen it in action in my daughter’s science classroom. Here they do many projects and they are able to link all their research, write ups, and anything else related to their projects in one easy place where it is organized and available at home and school. I think it could be used as a resource keeper for teachers and students. Teachers can instruct students to bookmark the places on the web they have found as safe research sites for students. This can help limit unwanted sites from student searches. Like other desktop-bookmark keepers, Symbaloo can be shared with others by creating a url to share and it allows others to add the desk tops to their accounts. (Symbaloo Q&R, n.d.) This would allow students to share the information that they have collected with each other for group work that can be accessed at home as well as at school. You can add many different pages to the Symbaloo dashboards. You can have one labeled for each subject that it applies to; math, science, language arts, social studies, etc. Each holds its own set of what the student or teacher finds important or useful. I also prefer the very visual nature of the dashboard. Unlike Delicious or Google bookmarks, the Symbaloo dashboard is easily manipulated and organization and the visual elements makes finding what students are looking for very easy. There is no hunting through bookmarks, tags, etc. It is all there in one visual space. "More important, Symbaloo users can create customized walls of icons — Symbaloo calls them webmixes– tied to a specific topic" (gizmodose, 2009). I really like this tool for planning, documenting, and keeping data together.

References:

(2010). Symbaloo F&Q. Retrived from http://www.symbaloo.com/us/faq#Desktops%20&%20icons

Gizmodose, (2009). Symbaloo brings its icon web interface from Amsterdam to America. Retrieved from http://gizmodose.com/symbaloo-brings-its-icon-web-interface-from-amsterdam-to-america.html