A list of Simple Tools
Not all digital tools are created equal; tools that do one thing and do it well with a clear purpose and design are more easily aligned with existing classroom routines and enable students to more readily recognise their purpose in a learning sequence.
This list is NOT a complete one, but list for you to make a start with. Look at the examples below, and use the IMPACT guide beneath to assess new Simple Tools you uncover yourself.
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Visual mapping or mind mapping was first developed by Tony Buzan in the 1970s and is an effective strategy to refine thinking, and to visually organise ideas and concepts. Mapping ideas works because we are constantly forced to consider the structure and value of our ideas. It’s a metacognitively charged process in which students repeatedly consider how and where to place their ideas, reflections and concepts, and make connections between them.
Simple Mapping
Bubbl.us (G)
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One of my favourite activities in a classroom is the sequencing of ideas, ranking content for prominence or influence, or clustering ideas by theme or design, or allowing an exploration of temporal or spatial relationships.
Checklists
Drawing
AutoDraw
SlideshowsGoogle Slides (G)
Padlet (G) My IMPACT - 70%
Flowdiagrams
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Bringing discussion online changes classroom conversation, providing students with a host of new opportunities, whether it's synchronous (live discussion in a video chat, for example) or asynchronous (a discussion over time in spaces such as a discussion forum). Critically, discussion in its various forms is particularly impactful in determining positive outcomes in online learning.
Simple Chat
Q&A
Polling
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Reflection is driven by the way in which we have put our ideas into practice. After we have worked with knowledge and gained new experience from that work, reflection is another way we reach new understandings.
Audio reflection
Written reflection
Google Docs (G)
Timer
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Connect features commonly in many classroom routines that stimulate curiosity and inquiry. Connect is often a progressive stage of a routine, where new knowledge is drawn against existing or other new knowledge to encourage new understandings.
Slides
Google Slides (G)
Sticky Notes
Visualisation tools
How much
Use the sliding scales to calculate the IMPACT (Intuitive, Mastery, Purpose, Access, Context, Text) of a prospective Simple Tool!
Remember that the score YOU give a tool is subjective to your preferences and experience.