Assistive Technology Information: creative tools

Cross Word Puzzles is a great tool for educators that is again offered for free by Read Write Think. I really love this tool for it allows you to make interesting puzzles very easily and at the instance of a click. Hey !!! you do not need to be a technology or math wizard to start using it. It is very simple to use and all it takes is filling up the boxes. I still remember years ago when i wanted to create a synonyms puzzle it took me almost five hours to come up with the columns, grids, clues and words and now i can do the same work in 15 mints , you see how technology is changing our life for the BEST.

How can i get started using Cross Word Puzzles

Head over to Cross Word Puzzles main page
Click on get started
Fill in your name and select the grade

Click on create your own or you can choose of theirs
Give a name to your puzzle
add words to it then click on create puzzle
Now you can click on add clues to clue your words
click on finish and you will have your finalized crossword at your hand for printing.
Please read this little note from Cross Word Puzzles :

The tool also includes a Play mode with crossword puzzles for students in grades K–12. Included with each puzzle are a For Teachers page with troubleshooting help and ideas for use as well as a Tips & Hints page designed to scaffold students' learning and help them do the research necessary to solve the puzzle.

Applications of Cross Word Puzzles in education

Crossword puzzles is a great tool for educators. It will help them improve their students’ thinking powers. Students can use it to revise their content area like vocabulary and grammar. I would really recommend it for you if you are a language teacher , students will benefit a lot from it and by the end of the year they will have memorized a huge number of vocabulary items just by playing Crossword puzzle.If you are teaching elementary or higher students then you can let them use it to create their own puzzles and share it with their colleagues. It can be so much fun while learning is taking place smoothly.
That’s it about Cross Word Puzzles – create puzzles easily.

Wise Mapping is a great tool for educators. I am including it among the educative mind maps tools in this blog because of the important features it offers to its users. Educators can benefit from this service a lot.
Wise Mapping is a free online mind maps editor that allows you to create and share your mind maps with others.

Some features of Wise Mapping

Here is a list of the main features that Wise Mapping offers to its users :

It is free

It is easy to use

It has an interactive interface

It requires a sign up

It allows you to create and edit colorful and complex mind maps using just mouse and keyword

It lets you customize your maps by changing the border, text,shape and background color of your notes

It has a sophisticated authoring editor to help you manage your maps

You can share or save your mind maps right from the editor

You can make your mind maps either private or public

You can embed the image of your map anywhere you want online

How can i get started using Wise Mapping ?

To learn how to start working on Wise Mapping you need to head over to its main page and sign up for a free account .
Watch this tutorial video to learn more

Applications of Wise Mapping in education

Wise Mapping is, just like all the other educative Mind Mapping tools i have covered here , very important in education for It develops visual thinking for students and stimulate more interaction from their parts. Students love when they are visually engaged and Wise Mapping can just help them stay focused on content. I love this tool and i recommend that you start using it to create mind maps to share with your students. Why not even introduce it to them and let them start using it as well.
That’s it about Wise Mapping: a great mind maps creation tool.
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