Reading Two- Inspiration & Concept Mapping

Well I have to tell you when I chose to read the Royer & Royer article titled What a concept I had no idea how much I could learn in just a short amount of time about concept mapping. Concept mapping is a type of technology tool that allows teachers and students to become motivated about learning through software programs such as Inspiration. The particular article I read really focused on concept mapping using a desktop computer versus using concept mapping on handheld computers. So now you are probably wondering what is the advantage of concept mapping in the first place? Well, concept mapping allows students to develop a full understanding of any given concept. A concept map allows students to create maps with subconcepts, links, and crosslinks. Therefore, a more meaningful understanding of the new relationships can be developed based on the concept map. By using concept maps the new learning opportunities can be created. For example, a class could be making a concept map on butterflies. No two students maps would be alike and the teacher can see how well the student understood the concept based on the students map. Also, students can share thier maps with other students in the classroom and collaborate with one another based on what thier individual maps showed. A new type of learning is created automatically within the classroom, something that would not have existed without concept mapping. The digital divide that can keep some people out of the loop would be that concept mapping is very complex. Many people may be intimidated to use concept mapping due to the fact that it is quite complex. A way to remedy this would be to offer trainings on concept mapping to that population of people who may feel intimidated.
I believe that there is a place for concept mapping in the classroom, even at the younger ages. The article that I read focused on ninth-graders using concept mapping but I also think that it could be incorporated into the younger grades. In a first grade classroom I think that concept mapping could be used by the teacher and the students with the teacher facilitating or creating the map. A first grade class could be learning about the concept of weather and how it relates to everyday life. The students coulds come up with thier ideas while the teacher actually makes the map. One concern I have about the use of concept mapping in my own classroom (first grade) is that I do not think at that age students would be able to create thier own concept map because of the complexity of the software. I would be a little concerned about the students since they may not have the indepence to create one on thier own. The other concern is that all students may not be able to afford handheld computers to do concept mapping. To me, it is hard to get all students a brand new pair of crayons for the classroom, much less a handheld computer. That would be a challenge to figure out the funds for software and/or handheld computers.
The types of classroom activites that I think could be enhanced by concept mapping is any type of student-centered activity. There are probably numerous science and social studies activites that could be created using concept mapping to help develop a deeper understanding of history and evolution. Overall, I think that concept mapping is going to become more and more popular in the 21st century and beyond. I am glad I had a chance to read Royer & Royer's article because it really is a neat concept...no pun intended!