Here is my one minute message on Eyeplorer.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
BP9_2010063_web2.0T3_Eyeplorer
Eyeplorer is a graphical knowledge search engine that can be used to help with homework, do research on a new topic, or do creative brainstorming.
Eyeplorer connects your knowledge to the web. It will search the web for any connections that apply to your topic of interest. It begins by displaying concepts that pertain to your subject. Each concept is identified with various size bullet points (eyespots) which indicate common facts (larger eyespots) to lesser known ideas (smaller eyespots). These concepts have also been clustered into general categories. Each category is represented by a different color. Eyeplorer allows you to hide a category that is not of interest to you and you can also expand a category so that it is the only item you have displayed.
To find out more about one of the concepts you simply click on it and you then can read the information found on the web that connects to your topic. If you find information that you want kept for later use, you can drag it into the note pad. Your notes are stored permanently in your account and can be reorganized with the use of tabs according to subject. These notes can be emailed to an address or just copied and pasted to a document on your computer.
You can also have more than one topic in your search. Eyeplorer will then find connections that are common for both.
This is a very nice tool that makes it easy to find information about a specific topic quickly. The graphical display and categorization of content is a huge benefit. It helps to sort and organize the enormous amounts of information that is found.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
BP5_2010062_web2.0T2_mind42
Mind42 is another mind mapping application. This is a program that resides “in the cloud”. There is no application that resides on your computer. It is very easy to use and manipulate.
As you create your mind map it gives you the option to embed an attachment or a link or an image. The images can be found very quickly through a tool that pops up that will search google, yahoo or flickr. Once you have found your image it replaces theword being used. I don’t like this option. I wish the term would stay as part of the map so that there is no guessing as to what this image represents.
You get a “birdview” which makes it easy to move around your map as it gets bigger and bigger. You can cut and paste parts of your previously created map in order to rearrange or edit your ideas as you progress through the process. Numerous students can collaborate on the map by simply sending an invitation.
When the map is completed it can be exported in various formats: mind 42.com, pdf, jpeg. It can also be published to your website or blog. The map you see above was placed in the blog by a simple cut and paste process. The program generates text for you to place into your text blog. This allows the reader to manipulate the image with in the blog. You can magnify the image or collapse certain ideas (nodes). I was amazed at how easy this was to do.
One very nice feature of this application is that it is free. I did find it cumbersome that I couldn’t move terms around in order to re-establisha hierarchy for the ideas once they were created.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
BP4_2010061_RSSfeeds
Science-Based Medicine
One of our goals in teaching science is to make students aware of pseudoscience. Unfortunately, pseudoscience is rampant in medicine. This site is a great resource for exposing the fraudulent claims made by charlatans.
This gives me some fantastic visuals of current events to use as attention grabbers in the classroom.
I just added this one last month. This has obvious importance and benefit for all of us.
Before I started our masters program at Full Sail, this was one of the main ways I kept up on the technology used in education.
This is a blog written by Phil Plait who is an astronomer and educator. He is able to transform some very complex astronomical concepts into simple ideas.
BP3_2010061_web2.0T1_mindmeister
For my web 2.0 tool I looked into MindMeister. MindMeister is a mind mapping or brainstorming application that is incredibly easy to use. The picture above is a map I created in about 10 minutes.
You can create maps as an organizational tool for your class content so that students have more of a structure to the content being delivered. Students can create maps as well to help clarify questions they may have about the information. These maps can then be shared and edited by all the members of a class online.
As you create your map, MindMeister automatically searches the web for graphics to use in the display. This is an amazing time saver. You can also choose your own graphics as well. MindMeister will make recommendations of websites that relate to the words you are using in your map. This gives students an opportunity to go beyond the scope of the class.
Some of the really great features of MindMeister include the ability to attach your own documents or notes to each of the words in the map. This would be a huge benefit for students as you could attach class notes with more information on each topic.
The drawback to this collaborative tool is that there is a cost involved. They do have education discounts so the cost for a school site license at my school would amount to $1000/year. In addition, there does not seem to be a way to change the structure of the map you have created. The main concept is always located in the middle. You can’t move it to the top of the map.
I would also like to be able to easily create a link between ideas. These linking words would help describe why these ideas are being linked.
Refereneces
MeiserLabs. (2010). Mindmeister. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://www.mindmeister.com/
BP2_2010061_EduUses4Blogs
Blogs are being used for a multitude of reasons in education. One of the main reasons students will benefit from using blogs is that they allow students to continue to be immersed in the classroom content beyond the classroom.
Stephen Downes suggested that the use of blogs fosters the development of a learning community. Students can share opinions or ask and answer questions about the content learned that day. Students will be more motivated because they are writing to a worldwide audience. This use of blogs will allow in improvement not only of their understanding of the class curriculum, but it will also improve their writing and research skills.
Besides enhancing education by having the student use blogs, teachers can benefit from the use of a blog.
Bill Ferriter discussed the use of blogs as an important tool in professional development. He pointed out the prominent viewpoint that professional development as instituted through the district or school is often seen as a complete waste of time. The use of blogs, however, enables teachers to have access to a large variety of information, which can then be used to improve their own teaching technique. In addition, I think blogs would be a fantastic tool for a group of teachers at a school site to share their reflections on a particular lesson. Often times, I never get a chance to sit down and discuss the pitfalls or positive outcomes of a lesson with my peers. Posting and sharing a blog with teachers in my department would allow for this type of collaboration.
Downes, S. (2009, April). Half an hour. [Web log post]. Retrieved June 5, 2010, from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogs-in-education.html
Ferriter, B. (2009). Learning with Blogs and Wikis. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 34-38. Retrieved from ERIC database.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)