How high is it?

This morning, I was taking a look at a site that organizes iPad apps for Education - in a Bloom's structure. Hmm. Just like any version of digital Bloom's, I have to question whether or not this is a worthwhile practice. In a session I did with my colleague Jim Gates, we tried to provoke a discussion on the topic - "How High Is It?" We looked at the various sites that link Blooms to web 2.0 tools and asked, "When is the last time you saw a wiki that was truly at the level of "Create" on Bloom's?" Generally, they are repositories of information. In a rare instance, the wiki may include new thinking created by students.So, why are they often listed in the Create tier of Bloom's?


These organizational tools are nice ideas, but, unfortunately, it's akin to putting ketchup (catsup) on the food pyramid as a vegetable. I have to ask - huh? These digital Bloom's diagrams need to be used to start a conversation. They certainly should not be considered a final statement on the topic. 

So, ultimately, what is the answer to the question: How high is it? You should not be able to answer that question about the tool, because it's not about the TOOL; it's all about how you and your students use it. 

When you see one of these digital Bloom's diagrams, take some time to question what's there. Just do a search on "digital blooms" to see some examples.

If you have examples of web 2.0 tools being used at the highest levels of Bloom's, please do share.