How I Use It
As an art educator, I would use it for students to create their own "art history influence" Popplets. Students could create a Popplet map based on their favorite artists/art pieces throughout history and contemporary society to draw connections between each work of art. It could be effective in showing students the relationships in art history and better classify and connect artists in many ways. Examples of how to connect could be through time periods, styles and themes in their work. For students who have a deeper understanding of art and art history, this could be effective. For other students, teachers may need to include examples of how work could be connected.
My Take
It is an interesting way for students to draw connections and create their own art maps/concept maps that are personalized according to what they find meaningful. The tool takes teaching to the next level because it implements an efficient way for students to show their classification and critical thinking skills. It would be hard to see deeper level thinking and "the big picture" of the content for each individual student without using this application. In addition, it is easy for students to collaborate on Popplet and share artists and art movements with each other to increase knowledge. It helps teachers see where the gaps are in student learning and how to better engage with individual students. For example, after looking at a specific student's Popplet I noticed a thread in artistic styles but the particular student did not include a major art movement in their Popplet. By scaffolding, I suggested the student further research that particular art movement and see what he could find.
I highly recommend the use of Popplet in the classroom, particularly as an exploratory and organizing tool. It can also be helpful to provide further support to students if needed. It may also be helpful for students to practice how to use the tool on their own to get comfortable using it.
