Week 6: Task 5

Zooburst

I had honestly never seen or heard of Zooburst before now, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a fun online 3D, popup book creating tool which allows the user to bring their story to life with animations and enrich the story telling process and experience, bringing stories to life. I find that Zooburst as a learning tool is comparable to the basic functions of PowerPoint in the way of slides, and animations. It is however more specific to story telling. Zooburst’s basic functions are free, and the premium version comes at a cost. Although I haven’t experienced the premium version I believe the function offered with the upgrade is what makes Zooburst fantastic. With premium the user is able to experience augmented reality as they can use a webcam to as a camera which recognises a certain symbol and the 3D Images ‘jump’ from the paper, into the room around them, or recognise certain gestures which flip the page. Here’s one that I made: (yay i know how to embed :)). 

Zooburst has a lot to offer, here are some of the technical aspect:

∆      Basic Functions are free, upgrade to premium version available at cost.

∆      Zooburst has password protected accounts for educators/ public and a separate account for students.

∆      Teachers can assign students names and passwords which allows them to monitor and manage their students accounts. This promotes a protected environment.

∆      Books can be made public or private

∆      Zooburst allows user to share via email, and embed into blogs etc.

∆      Premium version allows user to embed audio, to download, allows access to other books, imbed into powerpoint and printable books.

∆      Accessable via ipad – free app.

∆      Users have the option to allow comments to be posted/ discussion formus on their books. This promotes discussion and readers connecting with each other. These discussions can be moderated.

∆      Simple and clear to navigate

∆      Provides choice of free animations to use. This was a little frustrating as I was searching for specific images and choice seemed to be limited and I spent a lot of time searching various tags. Option to upload will be very helpful, however time consuming.

Some ways educators can use Zooburst in the classroom are as follows:

∆      Learing various story ‘types’

∆      Learning the difference between fiction and non-fiction stories.

∆      Teaching rhyming words and learning the alphabet

∆      Teaching History.

∆      Teaching Science concepts. Good way to explain steps in experiments

∆      Engaging way to provide instructions

∆      Teaching Grammar. There is no spell check so I found I was really having to pay attention to my contracting words.

∆      Setting up expectations for the classroom

∆      Time lines

∆      Support/ structure for Presentations (SAMR).

à       Substitution- Have studetnes use Zooburst as a substitute for powerpoint. It can be used to structure presentation and add a multimodal aspect.

à       Augmented- Have students use the webcam to flip to next page section of the presentation.

à       Modification- Have students upload Book onto blog or website

à       Redefinition – Have students import PowerPoint and integrate various PowerPoint functions with Zooburst.

Bubbl.Us

Bubbl.Us is a brainstorming tool that aims to develop critical thinking and enhance creativity as users create concept maps that move beyond the surface. Bubbl.Us is fun and while I was using it I began to try and think of more, and how my points connected so that I could keep on using the tool. Here’s mine. 

 Bubbl.Us is free, with an upgrade option. Unlike Zooburst the free version, im my opinion, is all you need with the basic functions available.

Bubbl.Us has a lot to offer, here are some technical aspects:

∆      Free to make and account, with an upgradeable option. However, users do not even have to make an account to create a concept map

∆      Users are able to import images (premium version) and export.

∆      Able to retrieve code that allows user to embed map into blog or website

∆      Able to download image

∆      Able to Print

∆      User is able to create various mind map folders.

∆      And share these

∆      Able to connect with peers by creating a team

∆      Auto saves every two minutes. Prevents loss of work.

∆      Bubbles are colour coded according to hierarchy

∆      Unfortunately only 3 concept maps can be saved, however this doesn’t matter if the user is able to download save the maps they make and then delete off their account

There are many ways educators can use Bubbl.Us in the classroom. These all seem to promote higher order thinking as they learner , here are some:

∆      Use the concept map tool for planning an essay, explore points and discuss their relationship. Greate for teaching how writing should flow.

∆      When brainstorming points for autobiography/ biography

∆      Formative assessment

∆      Note taking at presentations

∆      Discussing responsible risk taking by brainstorming advantages and disadvantages

∆      Reporting back on stories

∆      Building a family tree

∆      Teaching history

∆      Timelines

∆      Planning an event e.g., concert night (in relation to the SAMR model)

à       Substitute- Substitute paper for the bubbl.us tool to brainstorm what is is required to run the concert, namely, chairs, ticket booth etc.

à       Augmentation- Use the colour coding tools to establish priority of points.

à       Modification – Use the colour coding to allocate jobs and embed this into a class blog which is accessible by students and parents from home, to refer back to.

à       Redefinition- Enable collaboration on the one concept map by sharing the map with other bubble.us accounts through the team/contacts option.

Conclusion

In conclusion, i  beleive these two tools are effective for teaching and learning and i will, (like all of the others which i have explored) will be using them in my classroom practice. Although they are different concepts, and great for different learning experiences and areas, they both encourage higher order thinking as children integrate their traditional literacy with online literacy. Especially in Bubbl.Us, users are are encouraged to think critically as they delve deeply into, and discuss relations between points and a certain topic or text types. Learning theories such as social and cognitive constructivism support them both, as they are making sense of new concepts by themselves and in their zone of proximal development as they negotiate ideas with their peers (O’Donnell, et.al., 2012). Connectivism is also achieved, as children are able to connect through discussion and justify and reflect on points, facts and opinions (Duke, Harper & Johnson, 2013). While not as likely to expose users due to the nature of the tools, it is still fundamental educators expose learners to the importance of safe and ethical practice for both Zooburst and Bubble.Us. This is because they both call for personal information to begin an account, photos can be uploaded, and they can both be embedded in a blog. It is important learners are aware of their online footprint.

Reference:

Duke, B., Harper, G., & Johnson. (2013). Connectivism as a Digital Age Learning Theory. Retrieved from: https://www.hetl.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/HETLReview2013SpecialIssueArticle1.pdf

O’Donnell, A.M., Dobozy, E., Bartlett, B., Bryer, F., Reeve, J., & Smith, J.K. (2012). Educational Psychology (1^st Australian ed.). New York, USA: John Wiley & Sons Australia.