Mapping Education: Inspiration in the Classroom

Prompt #4

A paragraph on how you, as a teacher, might make use of the concepts presented in Chapter 7, and what technologies you would like to use to achieve these goals.

A paragraph addressing why or why not you would encourage or require your students to develop outline, idea map, and storyboarding skills.


A paragraph on new skills you acquired in the last week that you think will be especially useful to you in your educational career and why you think so.

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English and Literature are areas subject to interpretation. Did Poe mean this or this in "The Raven?" What does the appearance of light refer to in Frankenstein, heaven/God or hope/knowledge? Any number of answers may or may not be correct, but, to ensure progress, we, as educational professsionals, establish standards. Know this, omit this, write this in this way.


Storyboards or concept maps may prove useful in analysing literature and formulating thesises and critical maps/papers. Concept maps will provide my students with useful tools that will outline critical subject matter, such as "How to Write a Thesis," "What to Look for When Analysing Literature," or worksheets used for literary comprehension. These formats are easily created and provide students with visual and linguistic references.


Student-created outlines may prove useful in demonstrating their ability to connect various ideas and concepts. They will allow students to become organized in their construction and allow their ideas to fully develop. Providing guidelines for students to develop upon is a constructive method allowing them to control the outcome of their paper while still hilighting the basic principles of writing and anaylisis.



Using technology for this purpose would be very effective. Programs such as Inspiration allow educators and students to organize their information while emphasizing key points or ideas. Ultimately, technology is effective because of its convienence; I do feel that handmade student outlines or storyboards would allow for more creativity and provide an exciting opportunity for group work and/or oral presentation.