CLASS 7: Graphic Organizers
PART ONE: Graphic Organizer Reviews
Name: Webspiration
URL: http://www.mywebspiration.com
Purpose: Webspiration uses cloud computing to help students with brainstorming, planning, collaboration, and interactions with teachers and other students. The overall goal is to increase students’ writing and critical thinking abilities.
Free/Paid: Paid subscription, but with a 30-day free trial
Name: bubbl.us
URL: https://bubbl.us
Purpose: Bubbl.us is designed for the quick creation of diagrams such as mind maps and flowcharts, which can be particularly useful when brainstrorming.
Free/Paid: Free version exists, with three different types of professional versions available.
Name: Rubistar
URL: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Purpose: Rubistar allows for the rapid creation, modification, and distribution of rubrics for a variety of projects, subjects, and grade levels.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: Mindmeister
URL: https://www.mindmeister.com
Purpose: Mindmeister is designed for the simple and quick creation of online mind maps, which is ideal for collaboration.
Free/Paid: Free version exists, with three different types of professional versions available.
Name: Holt Interactive Graphic Organizers
URL: https://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm
Purpose: Holt provides a large variety of graphic organizers, which can be downloaded, modified if desired, and printed out for distribution to students and colleagues.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: 3DTextMaker
URL: http://www.3dtextmaker.com
Purpose: 3DTextMaker is an online service that can quickly create a banner displaying three-dimensional text based upon the selected criteria, such as font and colour, and upon the text provided by the user. The banner can be downloaded as a .gif file.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: Tagxedo
Purpose: Tagxedo is a way to quickly design word clouds, with the user providing the text as well as being able to control options such as the colors used and the basic shape. The finished word cloud can be saved and shared in a variety of formats.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: Online Image Editor
URL: http://www.online-image-editor.com
Purpose: This website is a way to perform basic image editing, such as cropping and adding text, to images provided by the user, in particular .gif files. All of the work is done online, with no software needing to be downloaded by the user.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: Flowchart
Purpose: Flowchart is a way to create attractive looking flowcharts online, often in a collaborative manner.
Free/Paid: Flowchart is currently free, as it is in the beta stage of development, and is available by invitation only. It is possible to apply for an invitation on the website.
Name: Mindmup
URL: https://www.mindmup.com/#m:new
Purpose: Mindmup is a place to design, store, and share mind maps online.
Free/Paid: Free
Name: teAchology
URL: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/graphic_org/
Purpose: teAchology provides many resources for teachers. The above link is to a page that contains numerous types of graphic organizers that can be created, modified, downloaded, and printed.
Free/Paid: Some services can be accessed for free, but full membership requires payment.
Name: TeacherVision
URL: https://www.teachervision.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html
Purpose: TeachVision is very similar to teAchology, in that it provides numerous online resources for teachers. The graphic organizers provided can only be downloaded and printed, not modified.
Free/Paid: Paid, but a 7-day free trial exists.
Name: Cool Tools for Schools
URL: http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/Organiser+Tools
Purpose: This website is mostly an organized collection of links to other websites that provide various types of online tools for educators. For instance, the above link is toa page that itself links to many different places to get graphic organizers online.
Free/Paid: While the host page is free, some of the linked pages are not.
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PART TWO: Graphic Organizer Examples
1. Bubbl.us
This graphic organizer is a flowchart to represent the control path for a simple computer program that checks to see if a number is a perfect sqaure. It asks for an input, and checks the input for various features, such as is it an integer, is it positive, and finally is it a perfect square.
2. MindMeister
This is another flowchart, which shows the process to determine if a quadratic equation is factorable.
3. 3DTextMaker
This is a banner that I would display on the home page of on online Algebra I course.
4. Holt Interactice Graphic Organizer
Note: This is a PDF file, and must be linked, not displayed.
Link to example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Mmbr_K8K9LX3dyb0o2NENqTHc/view?usp=sharing
This graphic organizer is a way to show four different ways to solve a quadratic equation. I would have my students write an example of how to use each method in the corresponding circles.
5. Teacher Vision
Note: This is a PDF file, and must be linked, not displayed.
Link to example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Mmbr_K8K9LVFZKeDZCMkQ5Z1E/view?usp=sharing
This graphic organizer is a simple chart which shows four different types of polynomials. I would ask my students to write examples of each type in the corresponding section.
6. Worksheet Works
Note: This is a PDF file, and must be linked, not displayed.
Link to example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Mmbr_K8K9LcUNOX3Y3WG1ZM0k/view?usp=sharing
Link: https://www.worksheetworks.com
This is a simple chart to help students work on proofs. The students would be able to decide which facts about angles and lines they need to write down, and why that fact is true. For instance, if two lines are parallel, then why is that true?
