Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Visual Thesaurus

We bought a couple of copies of Thinkmap’s Visual Thesaurus. If you have not seen this product you need to check it out. It makes looking up a word fun. We put a copy of it on our OPAC computer station and the other on a laptop presentation cart that can be checked out to teachers. I will have to admit you have to drag the students over to use it, but once they try it, we find they come back to play with it on their own. If you send that laptop presentation cart out with a smartboard, this becomes an interactive activity with the students. One year after purchasing this product our English teachers are now starting to use it in their classrooms. Our experience has not been the "Build It and They Will Come" mentality but more like "Slap ‘Em in the Face" with it and they will like it. Am I being too blunt?

2 comments:

  1. We're so glad you like it! There are training screencasts up on the website here in the "Prerecorded training" section: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/educators/training/

    The first training shows a bunch of ways to search that you may not have discovered on your own. The second one gives ideas about using the VT in the classroom with stuff the teachers are already doing.

    Another hint: Social studies and science teachers love it, too!

    Best,

    The Visual Thesaurus Team
    http://www.visualthesaurus.com

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