Sprouts

Greg Ryan of Software Odyssey, has created a flash program called Sprouts. Clicking on this link will allow you to have a play with the software - it's in pre-alpha testing at the moment so its unstable and some things don't work.

Sprouts allows a user to create a tree (or sprout) with multiple branches growing from the main trunk. This ties in with an idea I had about personalised learning.

The above Sprout was created in under a minute, granted, there isn't much there but it does prove a useful point:



Imagine that an entire series of lessons were layed out in this way. The core lesson material could be accessed through the main line (lesson 1, lesson 2, lesson 3 etc.) but differentiated activities are also available coming off the main sprout. This would allow pupils to find their own path through a project, engaging in enrichment activities as they completed the core work.

In addition, the sprouts can be edited through the main page which will automatically update them in any blogs or website you have published them to.

I aim to try this idea of "personalised learning trees" out in HTML with a view to using it with my Year 9 product design class in September.

- Kev Shirtcliffe