Data Visualization with Glogster

After browsing the website, Free Visual Tools, I discovered great data visualization tools.  Data visualization tools can help a learner view information easier and access multiple types of representation about the subject being presented.  I took some time to navigate through the website to find which tool would work best for what I wanted to represent which is what I have being working on in my Wicked Problem Project.  My wicked problem is getting students to become more confident speaking Spanish in a World Language classroom.    

I used the tool Glogster to represent the 3 tools that will help a Spanish student become a more confident learner.  Those 3 tools are VoiceThread, ePals, and Skype.  Glogster allows you to connect links to these websites, which is an excellent feature giving easy access to the viewer to connect to the information.  Glogster also allows you to embed videos and MP3 files.  I embedded a video (visual) on how to use VoiceThread.  (I chose a video on VoiceThread over Skype and ePals because the other sites are more user friendly.)  I embedded the MP3 of my podcast (audio) that describes my wicked problem, giving the viewer an option to hear as well as look at the ideas being presented.  At the end, I brought it all together showing how they all work together to make a learner more confident in using the language!

The "ah ha" moment I had was how awesome these tools can be!  I feel like pen and paper limit students' creativity so much.  I brainstormed an idea of what I wanted it to look like and then when I created it using Glogster...it was WAY better!  I was able to add visuals, podcasts, and videos adding multiple representation of the product to reach a bigger audience.  

I viewed other data visualization tools such as: Exploratree, Dia, and Open Clipart.  Exploratree would be a great website to create and print thinking guides.  The website was user friendly and provided many features such as creating, printing, saving, and sharing the thinking guides.  It has similar features to Google Apps because students can work in real time and it allows others to 'view', 'edit', or 'comment' on the thinking guide. Dia did not seem very user friendly to me, but it can be used for making diagrams.  Open Clipart has free clip art!  I am excited to use this website in the future because I use clip art all the time in docs and presentations and it can be hard to find good clip art for free!  

Overall, Glogster was the best for me because I was able to use pictures, texts, videos, podcasts, and link websites.  It has a little bit of everything!  Also, my students use it in their ELA classes at my school, so I thought it would be good to learn how to use.  Perhaps I'll  have them use it in my class someday!      

My Brainstorm

 My Glogster