Spreadsheets
Let's get something out of the way before we go any further. Spreadsheets are not flashy. They are not going to arouse the kind of excitement that social media and multimedia applications elicit in students. Spreadsheets are work horses, but they can be used effectively for instruction.
Students who use spreadsheets learn the virtues of organization, but then also digging into the data to determine how variables relate to one another. In Leslie Bullion's article, "Middle School Math Lessons: Using Excel in the Classroom," Math teacher Kelly McMahon argues, "When you set up an Excel spreadsheet, you are not really working with numbers; you are working with variables." Combined with databases, most of which can easily import spreadsheets, students can run queries on data and produce all sorts of reports to organize research results.
The good news about modern spreadsheet programs is that they aren't as clunky as previous models. They still contain the cumbersome formula-making feature for purists, but they also provide templates and pre-made packages of functions that sit right in the upper toolbar. This was one of the biggest surprises for me--one who had given up on spreadsheets because of their complexity. I have found them especially useful for older students who are doing their own original research in social science topics. They can use spreadsheets to organize data and to help them pick up on patterns in the data that might represent qualitative variables.
Spreadsheet software is usually part of the OS package in most computers. However, there are a lot of options online. I found the Google Docs spreadsheet to be a nice way to get my feet wet with spreadsheets: docs.google.com. If you're looking for a higher synthesis of form and function, you might like SmartSheet. In addition to all the standard functions of spreadsheets, SmartSheet allows users to embed documents in data fields, and has a wide variety of templates including calendars and time lines. Smartsheet is built for collaboration and sharing in the cloud, and may just set a new trend in business and education.
Wikis
Wikis may be the broadest category of this group, as just about any knowledge subculture is connected to a community of knowledge contributors. Wikis are simply the online incarnation of an age old process of recording collective knowledge.
Wikis are online collaboration spaces that allow multiple participants to contribute knowledge on a particular topic. Some collaborations are deliberate and occur among an invitation-only collective. Many wikis are open to the public and allow anyone to register and submit information on sometimes thousands of wiki articles. Wikipedia is the best known example of the open wiki community. There are wikis as private and closed as a classroom. There are semi-public wikis devoted to knowledge in particular areas of knowledge like medicine or science fiction. Wikipedias, wiktionaries, and wikibooks are examples of larger, more comprehensive collaborations.
In the classroom, wikis provide for what Annette Lamb called "synergy" in the co-researching and co-writing of knowledge-based articles. Students enjoy the creative process involved in feeding off of each others' research findings. Wikis challenge students to read entries from their classmates critically, and add to them or edit existing content. In the end, students can produce a sort of encyclopedia of classroom knowledge for a given course. This opens up possibilities for lots of student interaction in the classroom, a shared sense of responsibility, and good practical experience in writing and editing. One of the bonuses of classroom wikis is that they provide writing practice without as much of a grading burden for teachers. Teachers may be more willing to assign writing when it doesn't always have to mean stacks of essays and days of grading. Those kinds of essay should not and will not go away with the advent of wikis, but teachers don't have to make those all-or-nothing decisions anymore.
If you want to try wikis in the classroom, step one is the check and see if your school's online learning management system offers them as a content option. If it does, play around with it and give it a try with the students. It may be clunky and hard to manage, so keep an open mind for outside options. I recommend wikispaces if you have access to student emails (the primary way to invite wiki members). It's still workable without access to emails, but bulk membership editing is cumbersome. Once it's done, though, you'll have a slick wiki platform for your students.
Mind-Mapping
Bubble.us: Bubbl.us is an online mind-mapping application
with simple key commands to add child and sibling bubbles. The key commands are easy to master because
they are simple and the program offers screen tips when users scroll over a
bubble. Popups offer adjustments to
appearance. Users can also save and
print their completed mind-maps. If
you’re looking for an intuitive interface with a straight forward bubble
hierarchy, this site may be the place to go.
Saving your work on Bubbl.us requires a free and simple registration.
Wisemapping: Wisemapping is a free and open source
mind-mapping tool that offers a lot more features than Bubbl.us but it is also
considerably more complicated. A toolbar
above the workspace offers lots of options for child and sibling
connectors. There is a 5-minute tutorial
video, but if the point of mind-mapping is to provide a convenient means of
conceptualizing, Wisemapping does not fit the bill. With a lot of practice, users might become
familiar enough to produce complex maps that might present well as a finished
product. If users want to brainstorm on
the fly, Bubbl is better. Wisemapping is
free for individuals. Registration makes
saving and accessing files easier.
Freemind: Freemind is a program download for Java, and is
the most complex of the three mind-mapping applications reviewed here. It has a word document feel to it, with a
packed toolbar for lots of options (that most people would not need). This is the type of software one might use to
layout a complex process for permanent reference. Maps on Freemind are not as glossy and lack
dimension, but they offer in-depth features for folding—collapsing/hiding nodes
“under” another node, and dragging and dropping information from other files
into nodes. Freemind is in the Ubuntu
(Linux) repository by default and can be easily installed and uninstalled. Since the application is java-based, it is
cross-platform (useable on just about any operating system).
MindNode: MindNode is another option that might do the best
job of combining ease-of-use, customization options, and attractiveness. It is a Mac application available on the Mac
App Store for free in the “lite” version.
The full paid version will set you back $19.99, not a bad price for
someone who uses mind-mapping a lot.
MindNode is a great example of the educational value of mind
mapping applications.
There are at least three
main purposes of mind-mapping in education:
(1)
tracking brainstorming as it occurs (individually,
in groups, or in among the whole class.
(2)
organizing more permanent thoughts for
personal/group study and project planning
(3)
providing a birds-eye layout of a concept for
student and teacher presentations
MindNode works well for all of these because it is easy,
fast, and aesthetically pleasing. It
also has the drag-drop, and folding features that make it as elaborate as one
would like.
Any of these mind-mapping programs are worthy of
recommendation, since any mind-mapping application is better than none. Once teachers and students become accustomed
to using mind-mapping, though, the programs’ idiosyncrasies will come out. Cumbersome operations are not consistent with
the purpose of mind-mapping. Program
operations are not supposed to eat up brain-power in the thinking process. Rather the functions of mind-mapping software
need to be seamless and intuitive enough that they are second nature and don’t
create a drag on mental creativity.
Media Narratives
Animoto is an innovative online media creating and sharing
platform that brings photos and videos to life.
That is, it animates photos and videos in frames that float above attractive
backgrounds. Music and captions can also
be uploaded to the presentation to make it more interesting. Those familiar with Mac’s imovie will
recognize the concept. Instead of static
photo/video presentation, the frames in which media sits moves and changes size
in such a way that the animation itself helps in the telling of the story. It’s a multi-media narrative that blows away
Power Point and classic photo viewers.
Animoto is available in a free version and three paid upgrade
versions. The main advantage to
upgrading is in the length of video one is allowed to produce. The free version is limited to 30 seconds
videos. Upgrades jump to 10 minute and
20 minute videos. The upgrade versions
have more backgrounds, animation features, and storage. All versions allow for 600+ tracks, but the
highest level upgrade allows 2000. All
that extra video length and storage will cost you, though. Annual billing for the three paid options is
$30, $99, and $249. These are not
exorbitant prices, but for $249 one might find a program download without the
length and storage limitations that Animoto imposes. Still, for a teacher looking to beef up the
engagement factor for presentations, it’s not much to pay.
Resources like Animoto are tremendously useful for project
learning and for supplementing discussions with multimedia features. Students can use Animoto to make
presentations that incorporate pictures, videos, and audio (including their own
commentary). For any teacher that has
sat through 50 student presentations in one day, Animoto would be a welcome
diversion. It can be used to present
content too, though teachers may find that organizing an entire
lecture/discussion is really not the point of the application. For sustained interactive discussion aids,
Prezi is a better option in that it provides attractiveness, animation, and
teacher control. Animoto would also be a
great asset to extra curricular clubs that want an interesting way to document
all their activity for enjoyment in the group, presentations to parents, and
for recruiting. Speaking of recruiting,
private schools might really like Animoto as a way to create multimedia
promotions of the school. One could see
Animoto becoming a staple at graduation festivities and at open houses.
I would recommend Animoto on a limited basis as an
occasional support for student projects, extra-curricular activities, and
school promotion pieces if the resources are available and the school technology
climate is open. It is NOT necessary,
however. Schools/teachers would have to
be careful not to try to replace face-to-face presentation with media such as
this. Students need to be able to tell
stories and find engaging ways to present information that are dependent
primarily or exclusively on the brain and heart. It would be easy for students to become
dependent on making videos instead of speaking to others live. If presentation skills and the ability to
lead discussion among peers is at all important to teachers and parents,
Animoto would need to be used sparingly.
If overused, it would lose a lot of its dramatic impact anyway.
Google Docs
Google Docs is so well known that it may not need much of an
introduction. It is the online word
processing element of the ever-expanding Google+ franchise. With an account, users can compose documents
in a Word-for-Windows style environment.
The unique feature of the application is that it allows users to invite
others to collaborate in real time. Once
a collaborator accepts the email invitation by going to the link embedded in
the email, he/she can co-compose documents and edit existing material. There is also a sidebar for chatting while
editing. With the voice or video plugin,
users can talk to each other while they work together.
Google Docs is galaxies beyond the old emailing attachments
routine. Collaborating in real time with
voice and video support, and then saving in a choice of multiple formats on
Google Drive (cloud) or locally on one’s own computer is convenient and tidy. Multiple users can access a document from any
internet-enabled device and share it without having to go into an email client
and attach a locally stored document.
Google Docs offers a comprehensive office productivity suite including
presentations, spreadsheets, forms, and drawing. Google has become a one-stop-shop for creating
and communicating. It’s just a tick away
from being a cloud desktop.
Google Docs is a great place for students to collaborate on
group writing assignments, and group presentations. Inside of class and out, students can use all
of the voice and print collaboration tools Google provides to create projects
together. Those of us who had to
collaborate on group projects by scheduling time after school or on weekends,
are wondering where this has been all our lives. Imagine what it would have been like in the
80s and 90s to connect with members of group projects from the comfort of home
or dorm room. This is not to say that
it’s the same experience, qualitatively, as meeting in person, but the
convenience is hard to dispute.
Peer editing is also a nice feature for written work. Teachers who want to turn written assignments
into occasions for reinforcing writing skills will appreciate the ability to
get papers in front of other readers.
This is a great way to make whole classes become more deliberate in the
quality of their writing.
Needless to say, I recommend Google Docs. So long as it has the appropriate controls
and monitoring to insure responsible use, and so long as it provides true
student collaboration and productivity, teachers should be encouraged to make
use of it. My normal caveat applies here
too—this is for occasional use. It
should not dominate the classroom or extinguish the personal creative process
of writing. There are times when
students need to be able to think, plan, and write on their own. We love group activities in education because
they look so energetic and interactive.
Often they are, but they can also be overused. Google Docs simply provides convenience to group
work and peer editing processes. Like
all forms of technology, we could live without it and do just fine. Giving students some experience with this
program helps students to see the big picture of professional online
collaboration tools. They should have
opportunities to learn the basic skills involved with such tools, but they learn
fast and don’t need to be immersed in them on a daily basis. In moderation, this is one of the most
logical and justifiable classroom technologies out there.
By Jason Adams
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