The website Bubbl.us is a brainstorming application. Unlike other similar applications, this one is pretty straight forward, making it perfect for students. Some may question why a student would need to use an online visual outline when they can just do it on paper, but I say it helps make the process more hands-on.
Students often struggle with the thinking process and when they get stuck they give up. By having students create bubble charts online, if they get stuck they can easily re-arrange the bubbles to spark new connections and ideas. The application would best be served for a lengthy piece of curriculum like dissecting a book or preparing for an essay.
While students can use the charts for anything, I think it’s best use would come from teachers. I can see myself using this application when creating unit outlines or breaking down any information. As mentioned before, it is very user friendly and allows much more movement and manipulation than Lucidchart. The overall process from creation to saving the file to sharing the file is extremely easy.
Although I have never given my students a formal brainstorming assignment, I do require them to do it before their timed writing. I think I will have them utilize this application when we finish our unit on short story. My vision is that they will be able to link characters and themes and be able to recognize similarities across stories.
I also would like to use it for To Kill a Mockingbird to show the relationship between the different themes in the book. This process is important for visual learners because they can easily see where the information is divided and where it intersects.
Even thought the site is simple (I’ve said that a couple of times) it is meaningful and underlines an important process that I am guilty of often overlooking. Too often I assume students can sort through their thinking in their head, when they really need the opportunity to get it down on paper or in some visual format so that they may manipulate it. It is the interaction that helps them make the jump from spark to finish product.
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