Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tech Tips Tuesday

This Week's Tip - Mind mapping with Kidspiration

I've mentioned Kidspiration on other occasions, but found it useful again this week and worth another mention. It's such an easy tool to use and students pick up on it quickly and use it effectively. I tried it with students in my Year 1/2 class and they really got into it and taught themselves how to find and add pictures, how to change line colours and much more.

Students were asked to create a mind map of the things that keep them healthy. I demonstrated the basics and created my own mind map (though incomplete) as seen below:

They began with the central idea - Keeping Healthy, and then branched out as their inspiration led them. One of my gripes with the program is that it doesn't pick up on spelling as students type or offer suggested spelling. These days that is one of the things you come to expect.

4 comments:

  1. This is my first visit and really amazing sites for both teachers and kids. Loved it and have added this to my Google reader.


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  2. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am about to embark on homeschooling my Year 1 daughter for 7 months while we travel around Australia. What I have seen on your blog so far has been a breath of fresh air and provided me with lots of inspiration. Keep up the great communication as parents don't usually get to find these things out as not much face time with their teacher.

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  3. Mind mapping is a great way to teach kids to clearly and decisively express their thoughts.

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  4. Thank you very much, your sharing article can make me to improve my teaching skill. Good job.

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