Looking for a minimalist tech tool that is easy for unproblematic students to navigate and promotes the design process and disquisitional thinking skills? Have them create a popplet! Popplet is a digital heed mapping tool. Students play effectually with colors, box sizes and type hierarchy. They can insert videos from youtube or add a link from vimeo. Plus, they tin insert images within their brainstorm web from their desktop. They tin even draw in their popplet!

Popplet-Homepage

I used this tool with second and third graders. They researched an animal adaptation. And then, they created a popplet with at least 3 interesting facts, 3 images and ane video. For their adaptation project, students researched 1 Barred Owl adaptation in cooperative learning groups of iv subsequently we compared the concrete advent of adult Barred Owls to their offspring and discussed the difference between a concrete inherited trait and a learned behavioral trait. Afterwards, the students dissected owl pellets!

Popplet-Presentation

How To:
Get to popplet.com and have students create a username and password (complimentary account). With a free business relationship, students can make five popplets and keep editing them and changing them. Once they are logged in and at their homepage, they click "make a popplet." They make up one's mind on a groundwork colour and give their popplet a proper noun.

Make-a-Popplet

In one case students have their popplet prepared, they add a box or a "popple" and start creating their web of facts!

Popplet

Popple Choices: Students select the outline color for their popple and type size. They can cull a pen color to draw an epitome. They can insert images and videos besides (run across visual below). To delete a popple they hit the x.

How-to-Make-a-Popplet

To start branching off boxes and constructing a spider web, students click the circles on the side of their popples. They can stretch their boxes out far or keep them shut together. They don't even accept to add any lines at all! They can just add boxes. Students hit the push button "new popple" to create a box with no branches.

Popplet-Web-Tool

In one case students have their popplet created, projection them onto the Smart Board and have the students present what they researched to the class. Later on, teachers or students can get in and add together comments to each popple or box! They click the voice communication bubble where the black pointer is pointing. People only meet the annotate when they select the popple that someone commented on. Otherwise it is subconscious.

Popplet-Comments

Erin Bittman is a second/third-grade student teacher in a multi-grade classroom at a themed Magnet Schoolhouse. She attends the University of Cincinnati. Check out her web log Eastward is for Explore!