CEDO 525 Week three

In this week we were asked to review several sites containing note taking and data documentation tools or organizers. We had a list of Bubbl.us, CMAP, Inspiration or Kidspiration, Education Oasis, and Explora Tree. I chose to review Bubbl.us, Inspiration, and Education Oasis.

The first I reviewed was Bubbl.us as this was the first on the list. I thought that Bubbl.us was a neat tool to use and it was visually pleasing. I thought the commands and tools were very easy to use and the procedure certainly lended itself to focusing on learning and organizing the information provided versus learning the software itself. I think the less time a student needs to spend learning the software, the more time they can spend learning the curriculum. I can see how using this mapping feature would help students organize the information in a manner that is meaningful to them and that is what we are all striving for. I did not necessarily like the fact that it was pretty much solely a mapping program were as some of the other programs I reviewed had some additional possibilities as well but we will get to that in those reviews.

The second tool I reviewed was Inspiration. I had been hearing of people using Inspiration but had never actually used it myself. I signed up for a free trial and after finally getting it loaded, I was off and running through the beginning tutorials. This was an extremely easy program to use and very visually appealing. I thought the pictures included were awesome and I could see where students would really enjoy making maps using this program. I also liked the ease of use in creating these maps and the quick learning curve that went along with this software. In addition to the maps, I really liked the fact that you could also use the software to create outlines. I think that this additional feature seperates this program from Bubbl.us and therefore I would use this program before using that.

The final tool I reviewed was Education Oasis. This program wasn't nearly as visually appealing as either of the previous two programs I reviewed, however, what it lacks in aesthetics, I felt it more than made up for in functionality. I really liked the idea that you could select from a wide array of map templates, documentation templates, and data collection templates. I think this provides the instructor with some great tools to administer to the students for procurring information and assisting in the retention of that information. I didn't necessarily like the fact that these templates were done in a non-writable pdf format which requires printing them off to utilize them, however, I think I could copy the image and create a writeable format from these documents and then paste them into my shared folder where the students could digitally complete these documents and then store them in their own folders. I think that this would greatly enhance the students ability to stay organized as well as be able to rapidly recall the information when needed.

In all, I think a combination of Inspiration and Education Oasis would be very beneficial to bring into the classroom. I have always been a big proponent of taking the extra time to provide students with a means of organizing their information as I think in the long run, the organization makes what I do more effective and it saves time over the long haul.