Web 2.0 tool: Argument Mapper/Creator

I chose Argument Mapper for my web 2.0 tool.  I would definitely use this tool because we have the Common Core Standards coming up in 2014.  As faculty and staff of Honoka'a High and Intermediate here on the Big Island, we are being introduced to how arguments will be developed and how to teach our students to think critically.

All across the boards, from English, Math, Science, AVID, Social Studies, students will be introduced more to writing intensive courses and how to debate and defend their arguments.  At my second job, during our tutoring hour, students at our middle school are learning how to formulate arguments by first creating "maps" or different charts and ways that they come up with ideas.

I know that this web 2.0 tool called Argument Mapper, will help with formulating their ideas, and helping students develop critical thinking skills.  We are blessed to have mobile carts at the middle school that house at least 20 laptop computers, so with me introducing this program to our afterschool students will be more than helpful during tutoring time.  Argument Mapper is great because it has prompts and students can formulate thier writing, publish to the web, and invite thier fellow classmates to view thier argument map, and debate with them.

Before enrolling in ED 279, I just used Gmail because I didn't know how to use any other tools.  I am glad that I enrolled in this class because it will help me and my students to navigate through different web tools to learn new content.  Tools such as Argument Mapper, Diigo, Twitter, are ways that we can share information, save it, publish it onto the web, and connect with not only colleagues and classmates from our school, but connect with people from everywhere.

I think it is really neat how all of these web 2.0 tools work.  I am glad that I am being introduced to them now, and am gaining a little bit of confidence in learning how to navigate and use them to my advantage.  I have yet to try the Prezi tool, Storybird, and Planboard tools, to get me organized and set up to plan lessons for my Sunday school class.  I know that a lot of the web 2.0 tools can aid my colleagues and I and the teachers I work with, granted that they are willing to let me engage them and the students and are willing to give me a shot in teaching them some of the technology that I have tried and learned about.

You can view my presentation on Argument Mapper/Creator at:  http://screenr.com/4Yt7