Concept+Mapping

=Concept Mapping=
 * Michelle & Julie**

=[|Wordle]= According to wordle.net - "Wordle is a toy for generating 'word clouds' from text that you provide. The clouds give gr​eater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends."
 * 1. Create an operational definition for the tool.**

This is a great website for students to entertain themselves. It will engage students to be creative in the classroom with different projects they might be working on.
 * 2. Does the technology promote student engagement or merely entertainment?**

This does not add much value to traditional instruction because it is not have much educational value. This is more of a place to be creative.
 * 3. Analyze whether this technology adds some demonstrable pedagogical value to traditional instruction.**

This is a great visual for students to see the key important words in a phrase since the more times a word is typed, the larger is appears.
 * 4. Assess the use of this particular technology to aid students in the acquisition of knowledge and not just information.**

Students can create "t-shirt" designs for specific topics. There is no need for sentence structure which is where the words will pop out.
 * 5. Suggest some educational uses for this tool in the K-12 classroom.**

If students are not closely monitored, they can type inappropriate words often and see how they stick out compared to the others. On the flip side, it is a word recognition program which is a great visual for students.
 * 6. Discuss the pluses and minuses of using this tool with students.**

=[|Mindmeister]= According to mindmeister.com - "MindMeister brings the concept of mind mapping to the web, using its facilities for real-time collaboration to allow truly global brainstorming sessions. Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters from around the world (or just in different rooms) can simultaneously work on the same mind map and see each other's changes as they happen."
 * 1. Create an operational definition for the tool.**

This site is mainly for student engagement than entertainment. Students have much more entertaining sites to go to than this, but it is a fun educational tool.
 * 2. Does the technology promote student engagement or merely entertainment?**

This adds value to traditional instruction because it is including traditional methods with current technology. Teachers and students will love it.
 * 3. Analyze whether this technology adds some demonstrable pedagogical value to traditional instruction.**

This concept map helps students organize their thinking before continuing with a written paper. Students are able to make connections along the way after they type in their data instead of having to pre-plan everything.
 * 4. Assess the use of this particular technology to aid students in the acquisition of knowledge and not just information.**

Students can use this tool to study before assessments. They can use it to compare and contrast topics or simply make connections between topics. This could also be used to help write a paper. It can especially help younger students stay organized while writing paragraphs.
 * 5. Suggest some educational uses for this tool in the K-12 classroom.**

Students may get hung-up on the logistics of how this works rather than focusing on the topic. On the other hand, it is very user friendly. If students use the premade shell, it is easy to add and subtract from it. Students minds seem to jump all over so if they use this tool, it may help them to stay focused.
 * 6. Discuss the pluses and minuses of using this tool with students.**