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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Bloomin' Google redux


There has been much positive feedback to my Bloomin' Google page (http://kathyschrock.net/googleblooms/) Thanks to all who sent me notes!

But, through my Google Alerts, I have seen that others are questioning the use of the tool and where I placed things and the limiting of the creativity of teachers. (Geesh!) There were various reasons for its development and why I put things where I put them.
  1. Finding and utilizing ALL of the Google Tools gave me a good 100 hours of experience across the board. I was able to eliminate the tools that are just information sources and focus on the rest.
  2. Being an a avid follower and studier of Andrew Churches work with the Revised Bloom's Digital Taxonomy for the past year, I feel I really understand how it works. I had created, with his permission, my own version of the triangle using mainstream Web 2.0 tools and utilities, and had been showcasing that in various presentations.
  3. As a Google Certified Teacher, I wanted to see if Google even HAD the tools to target each level of the taxonomy. I made the decision as to what level I assigned them to based on my years of experience with teachers and students and curriculum and assessment.
  4. Another of my goals was to introduce teachers to the "less common" tools in hopes they would explore them. I, too, found out so many cool things about the tools while working on this project. I have since adapted my presentation about the Digital Taxonomy to showcase the lesser-known Google tools that can be used at various levels.
I stand by my choices, and could have included the rationale for why I put things on the various levels. It truly was hard to do, and I put a lot of thought into it. However, I felt it was better if I stepped back and allowed the creative teacher minds to contribute to the spreadsheet of ideas both with their successful practices and ideas sparked by "Bloomin' Google".

In addition, there has been some chatter as to the Creative Commons license type I assigned to the information I created. I don't want alternate versions out there that are attributed to me. This one is mine,  and you can use it, but think about ways you can develop your own.

For instance, if you are a content area teacher, create a Digital Taxonomy using the online tools and sites relative to that content area.  (You are the creative content expert, not me!) Provide the justification for what you picked or provide a form for others in your content area to add to the information you present.

I hope this provides information in addition to the 140 character tweet that announced the project and the previous blog post!

Kathy