One site that I found that had the right idea for deep thinking, but because of the way it is set up it didn't quite get the full use of deep thinking was http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/droplet.html. This was a very good site. It was a game to teach kids about the water cycle. The beginning story used characters in order to relate to kids. The game itself did not promote deep thinking. A water molecule went through different stages and tried not to get slurped up by animals along the way. If the game explained the different stages and what was happening to the molecule along the way it would have been a very good deep thinking site. Unfortunately it didn't do that so it became just a game.
Another site I liked and thought produced deep thinking was http://childrensheartinstitute.org/educate/heartwrk/hearthse.htm. This was a website that explained how the heart works. It used real life things, such as a house or a hose, that users could relate the heart to. It also had very good interactive demonstrations and sounds that showed how the heart worked. This site I believe promotes deep thinking because it give the users a better understanding of the functions of the heart.
1 comment:
Hi Kristina,
I like your analysis of these websites. I agree that the game from the first site lacks educational value!
I also agree that the second site makes good connections to prior knowledge (e.g., relating the heart to a house). You might also think about methods to make sure students understand these analogies. For example, having students explain how the heart *isn't* like a house. Or seeing if students can label and explain a real diagram of the heart.
Very nice job on this activity.
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