CRITICAL+THINKING+TOOLS


 * CRITICAL THINKING-TOOLBOX**

= FEATURED TOOLS = **Solv'r** - students solve problems collaboratively (Check out this **Solv'r tutorial** )

**Wisemapping** - students present ideas and concepts in a visual way.

**Joomag** - students create their own magazine, using a simple online editor.

**Artskills** - students work collaboratively, brainstorm, think critically and creatively to create posters.


 * DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS **


 * Webquests ** are great for creating an engaging learner-centered environment. Webquests provide scaffolding for students and they are motivating and rewarding. In order to develop a webquest, you must have an exact plan on what the learning goals are, what is expected of students, what the final product will be and how students will be evaluated. One of the easiest and user-friendliest tools to create a webquest is ** Zunal ** **.** You can create your own webquest from scratch, or you can use or re-use some of the many webquests created by other teachers. Here you can take a look at **Cultural Profile**s - a webquest created by Arjana. **QuestGarden** is another great platform for creating, but it is not free. You can also create your own webquests on your blog or wiki.

**Shidoni** is an amazing tool for kids to express themselves creatively.They are encouraged to develop their own world.

**Inanimate Alice** is a platform for digital story telling in a new, participatory way. Teachers can download a free education pack with lesson plans and student resources which can be used in different learning contexts. Students are immersed and deeply engaged in creating a story about Alice. They use multimedia, such as images, text, music, sound effects and games to unfold Alice's story. This way of learning helps students to develop their collaborative, critical thinking and citizenship skills.

**Exploreatree** is a free web resource where you can find a library of ready-made interactive thinking guides, print them out, edit them or make your own. It's a great tool for collaborative work.

**Nanoogo** is and online platform for kids where they can creatively express their thoughts, think critically, actively engage in challenges and safely collaborate with peers worldwide.

** DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS **

In traditional schools, students' activities are often not related to the real world. If we want our students to be critical thinkers able to solve problems we must engage them in authentic activities. Here are some tools and websites to encourage the development of problem solving skills:

**Draw a stickman** - students have to solve all kinds of problems by drawing. This is great for visual and kinesthetic learners.

**Decide Already** - students ask questions, propose answers and choose the best options.

**Sharendipity** - students can create their own learning games from scratch or customize study templates.

**Scratch** is a programming language that makes programming fun and interesting, especially for pupils aged 8-16. As pupils create and share projects in Scratch, they develop design and problem-solving skills, think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively.

**MIT App Inventor** is another programming tool that empowers students to create apps and publish them on the Android Marketplace, making it not only fun and engaging but also real-world problem-solving with authentic audiences.


 * Exploratorium ** - great for engaging students in a meaningful and interesting way. Besides a lot of different lessons which your students can use to learn from, there are a lot of **activiti****es** in which students are asked to solve problems or build knowledge.

** EXPRESS THOUGHTS CLEARLY AND CONFIDENTLY **

Let your students express their thoughts and opinions in a blog, a wiki, an online magazine or a debate. You can create a blog or a wiki for your eTwinning project in the **TwinSpace**. This is a safe environment where students will be able to collaborate with peers, practice their writing, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, document their learning and showcase their skills and knowledge.

According to your preferences, the age of your students or technology you have in your classroom, you can set up a class blog or each student can have their own blog page and become responsible for their own learning.

There are numerous free blogging platforms available on the Internet, with **Blogger** and **Wordpress** among the most popular ones.

**Quadblogging** - an authentic audience will interact with your students in a safe environment. Once you sign up, you will be allocated a Quad (4 schools or classes including your own). Each week one blog is the focus blog with the other three blogs visiting and commenting during that week. This is repeated until each of the classes /schools has had their week in the spotlight.

**TeacherBlogit** **-** easy and student-friendly, blogs can be accessed via mobile phones, students are notified when someone leaves a comment.

**SchoolRack -** teachers can create a classroom website, hold discussions, share information as well as send private messages.

**Wikis** are also frequently used to enhance learning and collaboration, because they are user-friendly and encourage student interaction. The most popular wiki platforms are** Wikispaces** and **PBWorks.**

Online magazines that students can create and edit regularly will add a new value to their everyday school life. **Magazine Factory** is great for creating a webzine.

**Tricider** is an excellent platform to engage students in lively debates. It's user -friendly and easy to manage. We'll be using Tricider for a debate later on in this Learning Event.

**LET THE IDEAS FLOW!**

Brainstorming, mindmapping and infographics are great for developing critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students are encouraged to identify and analyse the relationships and connections between different ideas and concepts and think in a creative way. Visual and kinesthetic learners will benefit greatly from using mindmapping, brainstorming and infographic tools for learning. The level of memory retention is considerably higher.

Here's a list of popular tools that teachers can use for brainstorming/mindmapping and creating infographics.

**Visualize me**

**Visually**

**Piktochart**

**Mindmeister**

**Bubbl.us**

**Text2 Mindmap**

**Cacoo**

[|**Gliffy**]

**Many Eyes**

In the videos below you'll find a guide on how to create good mind maps and infographics.

** GUIDE TO WIKIS AND BLOGS **

Here are two useful tutorials created by **CommonCraf****t** on why and how to use wikis and blogs. You can change your language preferences by clicking on the flag icon. The videos are available in English, German, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Japanese:
 * Wikis in Plain English **

**Blogs in Plain English**

CRITICAL THINKING IN EVERYDAY LIFE
How can we develop critical thinking skills? How can we empower our students to become better thinkers and practice critical thinking in everyday life? **The Critical Thinking Community** recommends **nine strategies** that a person can use to develop as a thinker.

**1. **  Use “Wasted” Time.

**2. **  A Problem A Day.

**3. **  Internalize Intellectual Standards.

**4. **  Keep An Intellectual Journal.

**5. **  Reshape Your Character.

**6. **  Deal with Your Ego.

**7. **  Redefine the Way You See Things.

**8. ** Get in touch with your emotions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">There are six stages required for development as a critical thinker: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1: **The Unreflective Thinker** (we are unaware of significant problems in our thinking)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">9. **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Analyze group influences on your life.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2: **The Challenged Thinker** (we become aware of problems in our thinking)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3: **The Beginning Thinker** (we try to improve but without regular practice)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">4: **The Practicing Thinker** (we recognize the necessity of regular practice)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">5: **The Advanced Thinker** (we advance in accordance with our practice)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">6: **The Master Thinker** (skilled & insightful thinking become second nature to us). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">We develop through these stages if we accept the fact that there are serious problems in our thinking (accepting the challenge to our thinking) and begin regular practice.