Kiosk Reflection

The kiosk project was a fun and interactive way to teach children about certain topics. While observing the other kiosks I really liked how the transitions made some of the projects stand out more than others. The transitions helped the presentation look a little more creative and neat. Another thing that I liked about other kiosks that I viewed was how there were videos that were incorporated to help enrich the presentation of the information.

While working on my kiosk I came across some difficulties. For example, for some odd reason all of the buttons that I had made were linked to the wrong slides or they wouldn't link at all even though it appeared to be linked. Another difficulty that our group encountered was trying to get the animation to work while having the slideshow run, but we later figured out how to do it.

Kiosks are an excellent tool for presenting information in a fun and creative way. Kiosks can be incorporated into teaching as a means of either having students create one as a final project for a certain topic. It can also be a way to introduce topics or lessons. I thing that this makes learning alittle more exciting and interactive for the student, which is a good way to help children actually remember what they are learning and not forget it by the next time they come to class.

Engaging Students with Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is an excellent way to get students who are visual learners involved in the classroom. As a visual learner a concept map allows for the student to visually represent information in an orderly fashion. This allows for the student to fully layout their ideas. Another thing that concept maps allow is organization and brainstorming. For example, a concept map can be an initial step to writing a paper kind of like an outline. A concept map allows for the student to layout the main topic as well as the sub-topics. After the topics are all laid out in an organized manner with the concept map it is easier for the student to write the paper.
Concept mapping can also be a way to test how well students understand the topic presented. To do this a student should be presented with a topic, then they are to link subcategories by themselves correctly. Then if the student adds subcategories to the other ones and demonstrates how they are connected if that was done correctly this is definitely a good way to test a student’s knowledge. Another way to test a student’s knowledge is to have a full concept map lay out. I would probably leave some of the links blank and have the students fill them in with the correct answer