Using Technology to Support Thinking Skills in the Elementary Montessori Classroom - KNOWLEDGE
Updated: Jun 23, 2022
Disclaimer: This series of articles will feature tools, both on a tablet and on the web, that will allow your students to use their thinking skills in the classroom. Please be aware that we are not advocating or negating the use of technology in the Montessori classroom. We are simply offering a variety of tools that may be effectively used to assist your students with a variety of tasks. Furthermore, we believe that the technology described here is not intended for early childhood and in some cases lower elementary. Each article in this series will present tools that will support the following thinking skills.
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
The Art of Remembering.
Although the act of remembering is often considered one of the most basic and fundamental thinking skills, the following apps have been reviewed and are recommended:
Wunderlist – wunderlist.com
Help students plan their day
Help them get notifications on tasks that need to be completed
Allows them to collaborate with other fellow students (requires Wunderlist pro subscriptions)
Available for any and all imaginable platforms.
Popplet – popplet.com
Helps students create nice, simple and interactive mind maps
Helps them learn using a visual skills
Capture facts, thoughts, and add images
Create visual relationships between ideas and facts.
Available for iPad only
Adobe Express – https://www.adobe.com/express/create
Comes with Adobe Page, Adobe Post and Adobe Video
Allows students to create presentations that can be shared online, on any platform
Post-it – http://www.post-it.com
Students can organize post-it notes right on their tablet
Very easy to use
Keeps track of ideas, and information
Students can share their notes with other fellow students
Students can use the Post-it features to collaborate on projects
Available as an app for the iPad
Creately – creately.com
Create diagrams, mind maps and flow charts
Provides easy to use tools
Allows for real time collaboration
Students can preview the work, suggest changes and edits. Everything is recorded for all collaborators to see
Students can track revisions
Charts can be published privately, or publicly for others to view, comment and use
Available on-line on the web
Quizlet – quizlet.com
Designed as a study aid to help students prepare for quizzes and tests.
Create flash cards
Students can create a variety of quiz styles
Use the preexisting quizzes that are available with the service or create your own questions and answers
Available on-line on the web
Google Classroom – classroom.google.com
Your school must have a Google apps for education account to use this feature
It is built around the idea of Google classroom being a mission control for teachers and students
Available on-line on the web