One consistent question facing educators today is “What are some ways to improve student thinking?” (Houghton, 2004) As educators, we can start by examining and utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy, which can be summarized with a few words: understanding, remembering, analyzing, applying, and creating. These terms can serve as a framework to organize objectives and help plan and design instruction to align with assessments. We can then take the objectives and integrate the use of technology into student learning.
Andrew Churches (2008) suggested a revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to account for the new processes and actions associated with Web 2.0 technologies. Churches’ updates focus on the development of lessons that facilitate collaborative learning via digital technology. However, with the plethora of Web 2.0 tools to enhance student learning, where does an educator begin?
As Web 2.0 becomes more popular and educational technology online sites replace desktop software, this has become more of an issue. Here are a few Web 2.0 sites based on Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy that do not require a student email address to create an account.
Remembering (listing, identifying, social bookmarking, searching)
Diigo Educator: http://www.diigo.com/education
Diigo Educator is a site for social bookmarking and annotating sites. Educators can create or import student accounts or post the social learning link in a classroom management system.
MentorMob University: www.mentormob.com/mmu
An innovative site for creating learning playlists ideal for guided learning. Educators can put PDFs and Word documents and embed a widget playlist into a learning management system, blog, Edmodo, or a wiki.
Understanding (summarizing, inferring, twittering, classifying)
19 Pencils: www.19pencils.com
19 Pencils is a site for finding educational resources, creating online quizzes, and bookmarking sites for students. Educators can give students their own log-in so they can track student progress. There is also a feature to create assignments and quizzes.
Twitter: www.twitter.com
Twitter is a social media platform that has a huge potential in education. K-12 educators have taken advantage of Twitter’s format to keep their classes engaged and up to date on the latest technologies.
Applying (uploading, sharing, editing, implementing)
Screencast-o-matic: http://screencast-o-matic.com
Screencast-o-matic is a simple tool that allows educators to record what is happening on a computer screen. Educators can use this tool for making instructional videos, especially in a class where students use a lot of new Web tools and need to see how to use them.
Analyzing (comparing, organizing, structuring, integrating)
SideVibe: www.sidevibe.com
SideVibe is a site for turning Web content into online lessons; teachers create student accounts. Educators can build classroom activities such as discussion posts and quizzes on top of existing Web content.
Corkboard me: https://corkboard.me/JytQLkHQs0
Corkboard.me is a site that allows teachers access to an online corkboard. Teachers and students can add sticky notes to type information and add images onto the corkboard. As far as sharing the corkboard, there are a few options … there is a view-only version of the corkboard so educators can link to it or send the URL to students. Educators can also embed the corkboard into a website.
Evaluating (checking, hypothesizing, reviewing, testing)
TodaysMeet: http://todaysmeet.com
TodaysMeet is a site useful for having a quick conversation in a few words. Educators can conduct online discussions while channeling the results onto one Web page or an interactive whiteboard.
SimpleMeet.me: http://simplemeet.me
SimpleMeet.me is a free site for quickly creating an online chat room with students. SimpleMeet.me could be used as a place for students to brainstorm and share ideas about a topic, or it could also be used as a simple help forum for students to ask questions of each other and their instructor. Registration on SimpleMeet.me is not required.
Creating (designing, planning, making, publishing)
VoiceThread: http://voicethread.com
VoiceThread is a Web 2.0 site for interactive digital storytelling; teachers create student accounts. VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate slides and leave comments.
GlogsterEDU: http://edu.glogster.com
GlogsterEDU is a site for creating interactive digital posters; teachers create student accounts. Educators can have students create posters to help student express themselves and to learn from one another.
References
Bloom, B. S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. New York: David McKay Co. Inc.
Churches, A. (2008). Bloom’s taxonomy and digital approaches. Edorigami.
Retrieved from http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Bloom%27s+and+ICT+tools
Fisher, M. (2009). Digital Bloom’s pyramid. Retrieved from www.digigogy.com
Houghton, R. S. (2004, March 17). Communities resolving our problems (C.R.O.P.): The basic idea: Bloom’s Taxonomy—Overview. Retrieved March 12, 2005, from www.wcu.edu/ceap/houghton/Learner/think/bloomsTaxonomy.html
Meyer, K. (2010). A comparison of Web 2.0 tools in a doctoral course. Internet and Higher Education, 13, 226–232.
Rahmat, M., & Saudi, M. M. (2007). E-learning assessment application based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. The International Journal of Learning, 14(9), 1–12.
Julia VanderMolen is an assistant professor and coordinator of health and science at Davenport University.
