Concept Mapping Virtual Fieldtrips

Virtual Fieldtrip Link

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Initials. (Producer). (2010). Tour the town: the colonial williamsburg offical history site. [Web]. Retrieved November 14, 2010 from http://www.history.org/Almanack/tourTheTown/.

Concept Map Link

Wanmer, M. (2010, November 12). Daily life in colonial williamsburg concept map. Retrieved November 14, 2010from http://www.mywebspiration.com/view/642200a42c9.

Reflection

The concept map I chose to maximize my students’ experiences in Colonial Williamsburg (via a virtual fieldtrip) is a spider map; a concept map is a diagram that shows the relationships between notions.  Within the map a main concept centered around five subtopics.  Three of the subtopics involved observations throughout the fieldtrip and the remaining two required students to analyze experiences and provided scaffolding for the following written assignment.  After a guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg, students were given time to autonomously explore the area.  Students were then put into small groups and given access to the digital concept map wherein they worked collaboratively to fill in the concept map though discussion, exploration, sharing and debate.  At the close of the period all concept maps were published and presented.

Working with students to complete the map was much easier than I thought it would be.  Students were able to go back and add new information to the concept map as they encountered new buildings and artifacts during the virtual fieldtrip and they were not limited to space constrictions or neatness expectations.  With other questions and answer assignments, once a student finishes a question they move on – there is rarely a revisit to edit or revise an answer.  Conversely, with a concept map all “questions” are never really finished and students are able to add as much detail as they want.  This allows students to compare and contrast topics while scrutinizing sources and evaluating responses.  Additionally, nothing written in the concept map is permanent.  Students were able to continually manipulate verbiage, placement, and classification.  This was very helpful to my perfectionist students who often avoid concept maps because of their common disorderly appearance and rigidity.  It also halped my more unorganized thinking students to clearly present their knowledge in a systematic manner, subsequently learning how to be better methodical in their work.

In a world where technology is continuously being upgraded it is imperative that teachers evolve and learn to use these changes to not simply do the same things differently but to do different things.  As Thornburg delineates, “we live in a world where it is commonplace for technology to be used to do different things, not just do old tasks differently” (Thornburg, 2004, p. 3). Technology today provides educators with a variety of different teaching tools that allow them to transform education in ways unfathomable only twenty years ago.  Cognitive tools have several roles: they “allow students to interact with information in order to acquire, synthesize, create, and share new knowledge” (Orey, 2001).   Concept maps and graphic organizers similar to the one used in this lesson “enable information to be presented in meaningful and appropriate representations” (Orey, 2001).  According to Orey, “presenting information involves the organization, format, and verbalization of knowledge conveyed through cognitive tools” (Orey, 2001). Careful attention will be paid to selecting relevant content, selecting information that enhances decisions and interpretations, and representing content and relationships in different forms (Iiyoshi et al, 2005).

Every year I have had students write a letter to a friend describing life in colonial America.  Previously I have shown a video about colonial life and then consigned the writing assignment; but this year, through the implementation of the concept map and virtual fieldtrip, I have been able to better scaffold how to relay experiences in a letter in order to better highlight understanding and analysis of experiences.

References

Iiyoshi, T., Hannifin, M. J., & Wang, F. (2005). Cognitive tools and student-centered learning:Rethinking tools, functions, and applications. Educational Media International, 42, 281-296. Retrieved February 19, 2007.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved October 30, 2010 from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page.

Thornburg, D. (2004). Technology and education: Expectations, not options. (Executive Briefing No. 401). Retrieved from http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/expectations.pdf