Holocaust Memorial Day - January, 27th

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”

 Elie Wiesel

January, 27th is the Holocaust Memorial Day. First of all let's have a look at some interactive presentations about World War 2nd .

Why did it start? From the Children's British History Encyclopedia, a very simple summary:
http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/world-war-ii/why-did-world-war-ii-start

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/btt/holocaust/flash/index.html

Here you can find some videos, images, comments and information.  There are interactive maps and a timeline. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/auschwitz_map/index.shtml

This is a BBC interactive animation with historical information, images and a virtual tour of Aushwitz camp.

Some activities in the UK:
http://www.hmd.org.uk/event/find

We watched "The king's speech" in class. It is not about holocaust but it talks about the famous speech King George VI made to his people on September, 3rd 1939 marking the beginning of WW2.

This is a webquest for you.

To the link below you can find the film trailer, a George VI biography, the recording of the real speech with the script and some activities based on the movie. Answer the following questions:

• How did George VI become king?
• Who was his wife?
• Why did he become popular and loved by his people?
• Who helped him to amend his stammer?
• Where can you find the original transcript of his famous speech?
• Which part of the speech did you like most?
• What does the king mean when he says that he speaks to his "peoples"?
• Which is the principle he wants to fight against?
• What are the "motivational posters"?
• How many copies of "keep calm" posters were printed?

Surf the sites I choose for you and find the answers:
https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/fMT10AzSX4vCLQ/the-king-s-speech

“If we bear all this suffering and if there are still Jews left, 

when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, 

will be held up as an example.”

Anne Frank

For teachers - a different kind of lesson

Don't know how to make your lesson more interesting?

If you want to take a more "digital" and interactive lesson you can use Blendspace or Thinglink.

I've tried both. They're really easy to use.


Blendspace
blendspace.com 

With Blendspace you can create  lessons with digital contents very quickly. You have a grid and you choose an interactive link for each box. You can also upload material from your pc.

this is my example:
http://blnds.co/1cII4wL

Thinglink
thinglink.com

With this tool you choose an image and then add many links (videos, music, images, etc.) to it to make it interactive.

My example:
http://www.thinglink.com/scene/481523444043743233

Bye for now!

I'll keep on surfing the Net 
through digital tools...

For teachers - free tools for mindmapping

This time I tried some free tools for  

schemes and mindmapping  

(sometimes you can use just a given number of free maps, then you are asked to upgrade).

As usual I've created some simple examples for you, just to give you the idea and make your choice easier.

Why should a teacher use mindmapping?

• A visual map gets students attention and focus
• Mind mapping enables teachers to organize, summarize and  manipulate ideas and concepts very easily
• It allows to present information in a visually attracting and comprehensive way
• Its organizational structure helps students understand effectively
• It promotes inquiry and problem solving
• It promotes active note taking

The first tool I tried is Popplet.

It combines presentations , mindmapping and online bulletins. You can  integrate text, images, video, and Google maps.

http://popplet.com/
My example: http://popplet.com/app/#/1559358

Then I tried Spiderscribe. 

It allows you to  easily visualize your ideas by connecting various pieces of information together. It also combines elements like text, images, files, calendar events and geographic locations.

http://www.spiderscribe.net/
My example: http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?ac420a5aeab2f33f7cb411eeebec5938

This is Spicynodes.

It allows you to create visually attractive nodes for your blog or websites. Nodes are visually displayed pieces of information that helps visitors easily navigate the content of your site so that they find what they are looking for.You have to click on the nodes to open them.

http://www.spicynodes.org/
My example: http://www.spicynodes.org/a/199c482ed6e8fe4de02ad4db20039e4c

I also tried Text2mindmap.
It converts texts into mind maps.

https://www.text2mindmap.com/ 
My example:
https://www.text2mindmap.com/k7XZDE?controller=frontpage&method=index&map=k7XZDE


This is Slatebox.

It allows you the freedom to create as many nodes and maps as possible. You can upload  images from the app itself. 

Slatebox:
http://slatebox.com/
Actually I didn't manage to save a link so I uploaded the .png file of my example for you.

The last tool I tried for you is Mindomo.

It has several features such as including a clipart library, importing images from Google images or Flickr , and using video straight from YouTube. If you want to use the free version you can just import images from the library.

http://www.mindomo.com/
My example: http://www.mindomo.com/mindmap/0c71d1cf14034f07aaff536e11b2d5ab

I hope to be helpful! BFN and have fun with your mindmaps!