Session 1 Insight

Original Mind Map created in MindMup.com created by María José Miranda

Insight Into Virtual Learning Tools
By María José Miranda Guevara 
English and Preschool Teacher
Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

Post 2

       On session one I learnt about three different online tools: MindMup, Diigo and Blogger. They all had very different purposes that can be used in an educational environment. For example, MindMup is an online tool where people can create mind maps or concept maps and adapt it to their purposes. In the case of Diigo it is an online platform where people can save their bookmarks online, comment on them and share them with a group. Blogger, as you can see, is an online tool to share information, images, opinions, essays and anything you want with anyone you want. All of them can be used by teachers and students in order to create a virtual educational environment. 

       My personal insight about Diigo is not that outstanding. I do not tend to have bookmarks. If I have something I want to see later but I do not have the time right now, I take an screenshot of the information and It is perfect. What I feel is the main usage I can give to Diigo is that I can create a group and share the bookmarks. That can be very useful with a group of people doing a research together, a group of human beings with similar interests or an educational group that need to be in contact during the learning process. In the educational field I feel it is great that teachers and students can make different comment or short descriptions about the bookmark they published or even each other's publications. 

       I have always loved mind maps. For me, It is an amazing way to put into life the ideas you have in your brain. I think it is important to have our ideas in a graphical view in order to go back and watch them again in case we need them. This tool mind map is excellent because it is easier to use than any other mind mapping tools. I prefer other mind mapping tools that have more options as different fonts and images, but this one is excellent when doing a specific task or fast summarizing. With this tool you can spend 10 minutes maximum explaining how to use this tool to anyone and start them into working which is the ideal scenario when you are a teacher. There, our students can put into graphic their summaries and ideas about a specific topic. Or even the teacher can create a summary for the students as extra material for them to refresh information. 

       The last tool I want to comment on is blogger. I used blogger in different occasions. As a student and as a teacher. Blogger give teachers the opportunity to share information as comments for the students. There, teachers can share their presentations, essays and webpages they consider can be great for the student's development. In the other hand students can share their ideas about what they have been learning and the teachers can follow that process by visiting their corresponding webpages and comment on the information they shared. The teachers and students can share images, essays and links. Teachers will not have the necessity of having to explain a complete task in class but they can upload all the tasks information on the blog and the students will only have to follow the steps and publish the results in order to receive the teacher's feedback. 

       In conclusion, all this tools can have an excellent purpose in the educational field. The teacher only needs to adapt those tools into their lesson program and explain to the students how to use the previous tools. They can be seen as personal online webpages but the potential they have can only bee sen by those who want to create a virtual environment in their educational process. 

Comentarios

  1. Este comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.

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  2. Hello Mimi, the capacity to adapt to change is true intelligence. Regarding your blog about virtual learning tools, you mentioned adaption through different educational contexts is vital to use those tools. For example, the first idea that comes to my mind is how teachers and students isolated from technology impact can deal with virtual tools to learn. For example, students and teacher in Altos de San Luis in Monteverde. That's where I think what you say comes into practice. Adaptation.

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  3. Excellent Mimi, I totally agree with you all the tools that we were exploring in the class are more than awesome. And it is our responsibility as teachers to implement them in the class. We supervise our students and we know their likes and dislikes and it is for sure that they are going to enjoy a lot this type of tools. Specially MindMup, in my opinion is the fun to use, and students are going to enjoy it a lot.

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  5. Dear Maria Fernanda,
    In accordance with you, e-learning comes along with a great variety of tools that support students’ learning process. I love to share with you that “Mindmup tool” is one of my favorite because students can personalize the way of learning by organizing ideas in order to acquire knowledge and content mastery in a visual way. It is visible the good amount of engagingly activities that enhance learner in their education. Nowadays, students need to be motivated and take part of enjoyable education process, therefore, teachers have to adopt e-learning as a requirement in order to meet expectations.

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  6. This now looks very professional, MJ. I think you have plenty to share with the teaching community in our classroom and beyond. The potential you have here is for you to discover how all these tools can help you become the professional you envision yourself in becoming in the short and long run.

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  7. Hello María. Your blog looks appealing and, as the professor mentioned it, very professional. Your insight helps to understand very well the tools studied in class and demonstrates your knowledge on the topic. Thanks for motivate us to do something nice.

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