bubbl.us and Educational Uses

There are many ways that bubbl.us can be used in an educational setting. Currently, students in my science class are learning about the Chesapeake Bay. Specifically, they are learning about the advantages and disadvantages of water on humans, plants, and animals, in, on and near the Chesapeake Bay. With that in mind I created a sample of one mind map that could be used by one group of students in my class. The example of this mind map is shown above this paragraph. Click on the picture above to clearly see the text in the picture. Other groups in my class could create a similar mind map for humans and animals. We could then partner up with another 5th grade class that is studying the relationship between water, humans, plants, animals, and the Chesapeake Bay. Groups in my class could be partnered with groups from the other class which could then edit and combine information related to this topic through online mind maps.

My students will be reading the story, Tuck Everlasting in the spring. In the story, one of the main characters, Winnie, has to make a choice of whether to drink from a spring that will allow her to live forever. After we're finished reading the story, the students will be placed in teams to debate the pros and cons of drinking from the spring. In preparation for this debate, each team could create a web on bubbl.us supporting their position. Other fifth grade students, younger students, and older students from other classes could be invited to edit their web. Debate teams could then use their final webs during preparation for the debate.

The fifth grade students at my school take part in a Build a Nation program every spring. During this project, students work in teams to create a nation. The following items are created for the nation: constitution, bill of rights, song, poem, sport, map, flag, etc. Most of the project is created on the school's computers. My school could work on this project collaboratively with another school. Fifth grade groups at another school that is doing the same project, could be connected with groups at my school. The groups could work together using bubbl.us to edit each other's mind maps related to the countries being created.