Widgets and Elections

An article by Darin Wagner    No Comments

I had a few minutes over lunch to check out a some news web sites related to election coverage when I came across these widgets on the front page of MSNBC.

A widget is supposedly short for `window gadget’. Today, the term commonly refers to an application that displays information and can lead to even more information. Widgets, like the ones below, are easily embedded into web sites and blogs and can provide stock quotes, news, search boxes for search engines, clocks, games, feeds and so much more.

I downloaded the code to embed them in this page and started thinking about they could be used in the classroom. In this case, I provide a place for students to easily get updated information on today’s big news story – the 2008 Presidential Election.

Pennsylvania Election Map

National Election Map

Instructional Ideas for Widgets

• Embed them in a web page or blog to provide students easy access to a variety of content-related sources

Please add your ideas for using this tool in the classroom by submitting your comments to this post!