Glogster Creation

Being introduced to Glogster has made me a very excited teacher! I'm already planning ways to incorporate this tool into my Language Arts classroom. This tech tool allows students to develop their creative mind in the way that works best for them. The organization and creativity of Glogster goes beyond the realm of hands-on project based assessments and allows students to expand their digital minds!

Here is the link to my Glogster. I'd love to use this when teaching the Iditarod by having them research using my Glog as well as following up with the writing prompt. I would also love for each of my students to create their own Glog on their chosen musher. I usually have them do a written report on the Iditarod, but I feel that this would be the perfect replacement project. I have already spoken with my tech coordinator who is on board and ready to help me organize student accounts for next year. We have the ability to use our purchase money to buy licenses for our students using Glogster.edu, but I feel that I could use regular Glogster since it's free and our district no longer has it blocked. The possibilities and creativity are endless when using Glogster!

The use of Glogster totally supports Gardner’s idea of creativity. There are many parallels between the creative and synthesizing mind, and Glogster helps to enhance both mindsets. Gardner mentions that the synthesizer’s goal is to place what has already been established in as useful and illuminating forms as possible; meanwhile, the creator’s goal is to extend the already acquired knowledge (Gardner, 2008). It’s always a challenge for teachers to push students to synthesize the information at hand and then use their creativity to create a project displaying their knowledge, but Glogster allows students to bridge these two mindsets and create various connections. The use of Glogster appeals to various intelligences and learners, especially those that learn best visually, not to mention the fact that Glogster can incorporate many things into one. Gardner mentions that those hooked on creative activity will use computers as intellectual prosthetics by manipulating variables and large amounts of information that could not be done prior to the computer age (Gardner, 2008). Based on the learners that we face in our rooms each day, whom are all growing up in such a digital world, tools like Glogster will appeal to them. They will be able to find their inner creativity, embrace it, and come up with a spectacular result that not only shows their understanding of the content, but in a sense, helps define who they are as a student.

Gardner, Howard. (2008). Five minds for the future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.