Thinkfinity a la Read/Write Web

How are you using Thinkfinity.org in your classes, or sharing it with other folks? I remember the first time I encountered MarcoPolo resources...I wasn't impressed. However, after a two day session on Thinkfinity, what impressed me was the high quality resources, interactive tools--online manipulatives--and lesson plans teachers could use. I remember thinking, how is this getting me to the CREATE level of the revised version of Bloom's Taxonomy, but then it occurred to me that many of the tools available are simple to use, free, and do provide that opportunity.

So, I'm curious how others are using Thinkfinity.org--if at all--in combination with new Read/Write Web tools? How do you see tools like Thinkfinity.org scaffolding the kind of technology use teachers need to engage in?

I'm organizing wild imaginings here - http://tinyurl.com/mgthinkfinity
and you can also join the Thinkfinity group on Diigo...
http://groups.diigo.com/groups/texasthinkfinity

Thanks for sharing,

Miguel Guhlin
Around the Corner-mGuhlin.net
http://mguhlin.net
(Check the Thinkfinity Category at http://tinyurl.com/mgthinkfinity )

I've been dipping my toe in using Read*Write*Think activities, and LOVE them.

Here is a review of one: http://instructify.com/2008/05/19/geometry-meets-writing-instruction-with-bio-cube/

And I've also done the Fractured Fairy Tales. I went to the preso at NECC, and learned about the Trading Card activity (http://mizmercer.edublogs.org/2008/07/04/necc-2008-day-two-reflection/) another form of character analysis, and loved it.

The only thing missing is that you can't save what you do, just print it out (unless you have PDF printing).

I'll be reviewing more the of the activities on Instructify in the Fall.

Alice, I've been thinking about that. Although a screen capture isn't all that exciting, what about capturing the screen and dropping it into PhotoStory (Windows) with audio narration? Or, do the same, but with iMovie on a Mac?

In fact, here's how I wrote it up for a conference workshop:
Learn how to blend image-enhanced podcasts created with MS PhotoStory with Thinkfinity.org interactives. Students can use Thinkfinity interactives--such as Story Mapping tools and Comic book maker--to create enhanced podcasts of their ideas.

Am I off my rocker? I always worry I'm mixing too many technologies into one 3-hour class.
8->

Thanks,

Miguel

Alice Mercer wrote:
> I've been dipping my toe in using Read*Write*Think activities, and LOVE them.
>
> Here is a review of one: http://instructify.com/2008/05/19/geometry-meets-writing-instruction-with-bio-cube/
>
> And I've also done the Fractured Fairy Tales. I went to the preso at NECC, and learned about the Trading Card activity (http://mizmercer.edublogs.org/2008/07/04/necc-2008-day-two-reflection/) another form of character analysis, and loved it.
>
> The only thing missing is that you can't save what you do, just print it out (unless you have PDF printing).
>
> I'll be reviewing more the of the activities on Instructify in the Fall.

Okay, stop Miguel. It's not how many activities you can fit in that three hour PD class, but how many activities a teacher can sustain in a classroom. The nice thing about Thinkfinity for me, is the class in the lab can finish it in 45 minutes. If I was in my own class, a kid at a classroom workstation could finish it during a workshop period. If you do that, you have to consider that it may be over a couple of class sessions, and be able to model it for teachers, or give them examples. Otherwise, they will freak and run?

My 2 cents.

Alice Mercer wrote:
> Okay, stop Miguel. It's not how many activities you can fit in that three hour PD class, but how many activities a teacher can sustain in a classroom. The nice thing about Thinkfinity for me, is the class in the lab can finish it in 45 minutes. If I was in my own class, a kid at a classroom workstation could finish it during a workshop period. If you do that, you have to consider that it may be over a couple of class sessions, and be able to model it for teachers, or give them examples. Otherwise, they will freak and run?
>
> My 2 cents.

I agree with Alice that teachers may "freak and run" and get overwhelmed with too many tools. On the other hand, I have used ReadWriteThink for several years, and I almost never use the entire lessons, but utilize pieces and ideas for inspiration. I am almost never entirely happy with another teacher's, group's, or even text's lessons, but I feel I must adapt them for my own classroom and individual learners. By the way, ReadWriteThink has provided effective resources for college, high school and remedial readers. I teach all those groups.
Best,
Claudean McKellips "cmckell"

Alice Mercer wrote:
> Okay, stop Miguel. It's not how many activities you can fit in that three hour PD class, but how many activities a teacher can sustain in a classroom. The nice thing about Thinkfinity for me, is the class in the lab can finish it in 45 minutes. If I was in my own class, a kid at a classroom workstation could finish it during a workshop period. If you do that, you have to consider that it may be over a couple of class sessions, and be able to model it for teachers, or give them examples. Otherwise, they will freak and run?
>
> My 2 cents.

Yep, I think it's critical to find one or two killer applications that teachers won't be able to resist.

Thanks to all of you for the feedback. For fun, I fleshed out two workshop scenarios:


http://www.mguhlin.net/archives/2008/07/entry_7443.htm
and
http://www.mguhlin.net/archives/2008/07/entry_7442.htm

Brainstorming some ideas here of how to share this here...
http://www.mguhlin.net/archives/2008/07/entry_7458.htm

Okay, those are GREAT advanced activities on the one with Diigo, for folks who have a basic experience with diigo already going in, and some Web 2.0 experience.

On the photostory, that is intermediate, but can I suggest an easier version that doesn't involve screenshots, but does have an extension? It's for elementary...

Have them do fractured fairy tales, then call gabcast to record a radio play. Even if they don't get the gabcast part, they will get the fractured fairy tales.

I think with most of these, you're going to have a % of the class that only gets the ReadWriteThink activity, and some that get that and the extension.

Sorry Miguel, I know your bigger, better, and smarter in Texas, but I want to make sure you aren't freaking your attendees out.

You haven't said what level of users.
Diigo is difficult for people who have not used social bookmarking at all-I love it but our users had trouble at first.
They needed more time to get used to it than I had planned for. Just a heads up.

Alice, hey, I love that kind of feedback. In the old days, I had a colleague who'd tear me down from the sky and say, "Uhh, Miguel," and then we'd refine the workshop to have multiple levels.

Tell me more about fractured fairy tales...I've never heard of that! Got a link?

Miguel


Alice Mercer wrote:
> Okay, those are GREAT advanced activities on the one with Diigo, for folks who have a basic experience with diigo already going in, and some Web 2.0 experience.
>
> On the photostory, that is intermediate, but can I suggest an easier version that doesn't involve screenshots, but does have an extension? It's for elementary...
>
> Have them do fractured fairy tales, then call gabcast to record a radio play. Even if they don't get the gabcast part, they will get the fractured fairy tales.
>
> I think with most of these, you're going to have a % of the class that only gets the ReadWriteThink activity, and some that get that and the extension.
>
> Sorry Miguel, I know your bigger, better, and smarter in Texas, but I want to make sure you aren't freaking your attendees out.

Diane, I've encountered the same difficulty in my workshops. However, I'm working on a handout and process to guide folks through Diigo in what I think is the simplest way possible.

Delicious is also a possibility for any of these workshops. I really like the idea someone shared in another group forum--let folks pick their own tools to use, then turn them loose. Although my lesson might cater to Diigo/Delicious, there's no reason why others couldn't be used and celebrated.

Thanks,

Miguel


Diane Peters wrote:
> You haven't said what level of users.
> Diigo is difficult for people who have not used social bookmarking at all-I love it but our users had trouble at first.
> They needed more time to get used to it than I had planned for. Just a heads up.

This sounds very interesting. I am a Texas Middle School/High School Technology teacher and I am always interested in trying new technology in the classroom.


Miguel guhlin wrote:
> Thinkfinity a la Read/Write Web
> javascript:void(0)
[ Reply ]
> How are you using Thinkfinity.org in your classes, or sharing it with other folks? I remember the first time I encountered MarcoPolo resources...I wasn't impressed. However, after a two day session on Thinkfinity, what impressed me was the high quality resources, interactive tools--online manipulatives--and lesson plans teachers could use. I remember thinking, how is this getting me to the CREATE level of the revised version of Bloom's Taxonomy, but then it occurred to me that many of the tools available are simple to use, free, and do provide that opportunity.
>
> So, I'm curious how others are using Thinkfinity.org--if at all--in combination with new Read/Write Web tools? How do you see tools like Thinkfinity.org scaffolding the kind of technology use teachers need to engage in?
>
> I'm organizing wild imaginings here - http://tinyurl.com/mgthinkfinity
> and you can also join the Thinkfinity group on Diigo...
> http://groups.diigo.com/groups/texasthinkfinity
>
> Thanks for sharing,
>
> Miguel Guhlin
> Around the Corner-mGuhlin.net
> http://mguhlin.net
> (Check the Thinkfinity Category at http://tinyurl.com/mgthinkfinity )