Webspiration for Teaching and Learning

The heat is now on for our Electronic Portfolio and this has directed my attention to the use of concept maps in literacy instruction. Many of us have used graphic organizers in our classrooms. We may have created them ourselves (or with some input from our students) on the black/whiteboard, or had our students examine the ones in their texts. These may have caught our students' interests only marginally, if at all. By chance, they might have benefitted by being able to visualize connections between words/phrases and a main idea. According to Lovitt & Horton (1994), concept maps can assist struggling readers by building on their prior knowledge, thus motivating and preparing them for a reading task. During reading, concept maps can also be used to support their reflections on their understanding. As such, concept maps promote comprehension.

Some other benefits of concept maps are that they are helpful for teaching vocabulary, they can be used in all content areas, and are easy to construct. Cost free, user friendly Webspiration can add the element of fun to the exercise for both students and teachers. This Web 2.0 technology enables users to digitally create concept maps individually or collaboratively. In addition, pictures and graphics can be inserted for visual effects and to enhance meaning, so that using Webspiration for concept map construction can help to revolutionize teaching and learning. Children get to use computers (which they enjoy) to organize their thoughts in the process of making and sharing meaning, without the hassle of boring face to face question and answer sessions. Teachers have at their disposal an excellent teaching and evaluation tool. Needless to say, Webspiration must not be kept a secret. Let's see how I can make it work in my Electronic Portfolio.