Oh, how I love Glogster! I think I enjoy using Glogster so much
because it reminds me of an online scrapbook page, and I love scrapbooking! I was just introduced to Glogster this year,
and I have created a few for my classroom, usually to introduce authors. The students respond very well to them
because they do not consider them “boring.”
Students are presented with audio, images, videos, text, and animation
to learn various concepts and skills in interesting ways. Students, themselves, are easily able to showcase
their knowledge of various subject areas using Glogster.
I really enjoyed creating my Edgar Allan Poe
Glog, and I can’t wait to show my students next year! Although Mr. Poe is intriguing enough, I
believe this Glog will further captivate my students’ attention and allow them
to learn more about his life and his works.
With Glogster, you are able to reach many types of learners. This glog also allows me to meet all of the
standards and learning objectives that I have set for my students. Using this fantastic tool, they are able to identify various literary devices and the impact
of Poe’s choice of narrator on this story.
They would also be equipped to recognize the impact of Poe’s choice of
setting and its impact on the story’s conflict and the resolution, tone,
language, and mood. The audio, text, and
videos will allow the students to explore the plot of the story and how
character actions and interactions relate to the plot. In addition, the students will be subjected
to interactive websites where they can indulge in their own detective work to
determine Poe’s death and take a virtual tour of the Poe Museum in Virginia. Where else could you include all of these
wonderful digital media to learn about the “inventor of the modern detective
story, a pioneer of the science fiction, and the master of the macabre” (Poe
Museum, 2010)?
As stated in my previous blog, one of
my students, fairly new to Glogster, created 20 glogs to display his knowledge
of various subjects, as well as to allow him to synthesize information. I believe Glogster is a tool that fosters
creativity and permits students to synthesize not only information from one discipline,
but across the disciplines. Connections
can be made in unique and innovative ways, ways that the students can
personalize and make meaningful and relevant to them.
However, we do not want to encourage pseudocreativity
where a student just haphazardly posts any and all information on a glog, with
no direction. Students need to be aware
of the teacher’s expectations, where rules and guidelines are set. Using rubrics is a great way to meet these
needs. I believe Gardner would approve
of Glogster because “in our global, wired society, creativity is sought after,
cultivated, praised,” and Glogster is an outlet that provides the means for
students to express themselves creatively (Gardner, 2007, p.77). In fact, Glogster hails itself as “Glog is Graphic
blog + creativity!”
Gardner, H. (2007).
Five minds for the future. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press.
Poe
Museum. (2010). Retrieved at http://www.poemuseum.org/about-audio.php
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