Engaging Students With Concept Mapping

This is an example of a concept map using Kidspiration.

Concept mapping is important for students to be able to see what the material they are going to cover. When you use concept mapping you are allowing your students to show prior knowledge and also allow students that do not have that prior knowledge to be able to see what their classmates know.
The idea that I chose to do my in depth concept map on is Volcanoes. Before you begin a unit on a topic such as volcanoes you can see what the students know and what volcanoes they already know. One the map I put important terms such as eruption and plate tectonics. There are also things associated with eruption such as lava and ash. I also added the famous volcanoes around the Northwest that the students may know about. I also included Hawaii because it is a recognizable state that is formed by volcanoes.
Another idea I came up with would be one on the water cycle. Depending on a student’s background there are many things they will know about this. They may know about precipitation or they may know about rain and snow. Some students will know that when water freezes it turns into ice or gets hot steams. There are many ways the students could go with that topic.
I also like the idea of using concept mapping for the topic of studying US History. I would use the concept map before introducing something like the Civil War. I would find out what the students already know about the topic to give me a place to start when discussing this topic. Once we established a base I would know the things that I don’t need to repeat for the students since they already have a grasp on them.
I feel that concept mapping is an important tool to use in the classroom. It gives students the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings on a particular topic. There is also the opportunity for the student to see how their fellow students feel about a topic. For example if you are about to introduce a volcano topic and a student has visited Hawaii they can talk about the experiences of being near an active volcano. This can help the students to relate to one another and the teacher to gain insight of a student’s background.
I also think that concept mapping can help the students with their organization of their ideas. Being able to put their ideas down in an organized fashion can help the students to see how their ideas fit with one another. Introducing the idea of a concept map can also help them in their writing because when they are brainstorming ideas for a paper they are able to see how those ideas all fit together. That way when the students begin their papers they will have a logical flow to their ideas.
Some of the criteria that I would use when deciding to use concept mapping would be how much time I have to get through a certain topic. Also I would take into consideration how much and what kind of information I want the students to know. If there are specific points I want them to know and I want to see how much they already know about it then concept mapping would be a good idea. I also think though, that once you get the students in the habit of using a concept map that they will begin to do it on their own. Once they understand how to organize their thoughts they will do it automatically for almost anything that you talk about in the class.

Blogs and Wikis in Education

There are many different ways that blogs and wikis are being used in the classroom. One interesting way that I found it that the teachers are having the students interact with the rest of the students in the classroom. There was a math blog that I found where students create different geometric shapes and then discuss these shapes on the blog. Another interesting things that I found was that teachers have the students keep a diary or a journal that normally would be in a notebook in a blog. The other interesting way to use blogs that I found was the students interacting with students from other places, that way the students can keep in touch or share results with the other group you are working with.
In the classroom you can use the aggregators because the teacher or student is automatically updated when the blog gets updated. This can be useful because if the students are checking a blog regularly for a certain project than these rss readers can help keep them updated. Also if you are working collaboratively on a project with other students from other places than the readers could be a good tool to keep the project updated.
Using blogs and wikis can be very useful in the classroom. The student has the opportunity to stay updated even when they aren't in the classroom. Also the students are able to collaborate with the teacher and other students. Blogs and wikis can also have a downfall. They are open to all people on the web so there is a good chance that the students can be inadvertently exposed to something bad. Also there are many students that don't have access to computers so having them do something from home can be problematic for those students and their families.

Teacher Web Blog

The impacts of using a teacher web style page in the classroom can be significant for both the students and the parents. This kind of website gives students a chance to interact on the internet. There are links that the students can go to, to help the students with homework and on different subjects in the classroom. The students can also go to a website like this in case they lose a homework assignment or were absent from class. The teacher web is also a good way for the parents to check up on the students. There is also a chance for the parents to become involved in the classroom. The parents can see announcements from the teacher and also contact the teacher.
I think that the two biggest advantages of using the teacher web page would be that the parents can be involved in the classroom. They can look at the homework that the teacher assigns to see if the student missed an assignment or if the student was absent from class. There is also an opportunity for the teacher to contact the teacher directly. Another advantage of the teacher web is that the student has opportunities to use the links that are posted on the teacher web. There are also at home assignments that the student can complete such as quizzes and homework.
I think one of the biggest disadvantages would be that not everyone has access to computers. Some families do not have a computer at home or at work. These families may not be able to access the internet either. There could also be problems with parents and students not being computer literate. If the parents do not know how to use the computer they may struggle providing assistance for the student at home.