Reflective Blog #2 Concept Mapping....Wow!!! Ironically enough I had to Google the terms concept mapping just to make sure I knew what it was before I went to any of the sites Dr. Huang had given us. I was surprised, and comforted, to see it was basically a jazzed up graphic organizer...at least the Bubbl site was. I found it easier to use the Bubbl website as it was akin to a flowchart. Growing up in the paper and pencil generation, I was taught to make outlines. As a result, even now when I start to do research for any reason, I find myself copy and pasting information and references into a semi-type outline form. As I read the articles on being a digital immigrant verses a digital native, I had to laugh as I very much found myself being described. Even though I am adapting to the digital age, I still like my paper copies of everything....and I still learn best and organize my information best by organizing it in outline form. I found myself stumbling through making bubbles and getting it to "look" the way I wanted it. However, when it was all said and done, I saw that it was just another way of organizing my thoughts just like an outline has always been for me. The more I used it, the more I liked it. The main thing I learned was how very important it is for people to produce their knowledge in the way they were instructed or in a manner similar to how they learned it. This was a main point for the article concerning digital immigrants. Just as it was hard for me, after learning outline form, to produce a concept map, it would be equally difficult for a young person who has mastered thinking in branches and groups like the Bubbl site or word phrases such as the Wordle site, to suddenly be asked to conform to making a rigid outline. We are doing our digital natives a huge disservice if we do not show them such tools as these to help them in their school work. Again, as a mathematics teacher of over twenty years, I have prided myself in trying new and innovative techniques and methods in my classroom. It has been a challenge for me to truly incorporate technology as a learning tool and not just as an archetype show all. However, I saw the possibility of the Wordle site a little differently. I can see how maybe I could use this site for students to remember key concepts or vocabulary they have learned. I tell my students all the time that they must learn to speak “mathanese.” The use of the Wordle site could show me that at least they are absorbing the vocabulary. The flip side is it might just be a way for them to vomit words in their heads out onto the page so they can process them. I will continue to try and use the new skills and purposefully look for ways to incorporate them into my personal use and the use of my classroom.