Gizmos

Today I was having a look at my peers blogs when I came across Kristen post "Gizmos as a Learning Object". As an avid fan of Paul Jennings work, I was curious to discover what a Learning Object Gizmo could be!

I clicked on the link that Kristen had provided and signed up for the 30 day free trial. I too was AMAZED at these learning objects! The observations I have made in my prac classes have been that Maths is normally taught as a 'talk and chalk' subject by using resources such as Go Maths or Real Life Maths. The teacher usually gives a 10-15minute demonstration of the topic with a activity sheet or work book page, or two to complete.



Gismos gives learners the opportunity to discover new information for themselves through inquiry based learning (Marzano and Pickering, 1997). Higher order thinking skills were developed through the use of Blooms’ Taxonomy, specifically to formulate the process of investigation and thinking skills used when completing the requirements of the individual task (Bloom, et.al, 1956).

Kristen has created a great SWOT analysis which comprehensively covers the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this learning object. It can be viewed by clicking here.