Information technologies have become an essential part of the modern world nowadays. They largely determine the future economic and social development of the mankind. Therefore, learning system requires some revolutionary change in these circumstances. It can be said that the topicality of this issue concerns the modern educational environment, because today, the quality of teaching subjects cannot be implemented without the use of tools and capabilities that provide computer technology and the Internet. They allow the teacher to apply the material better, make it more interesting, quickly check students' knowledge, and increase their interest in learning. The teacher can receive the latest information and actively communicate with colleagues, students, and parents. It increases the authority of the teacher and can be a carrier of culture, knowledge, and progress. Thus, in the paper, it can be hypothesized that the use of technology in training students is an effective means of achieving educational goals.
The subject of the statistics project is an online noticeboard Popplet. The purpose of the work is to discuss pros and cons of this technology and investigate how this device can be used effectively to enlarge efficient education.
First of all, Popplet is a free and premium technology, the main aim of which is to implement ideas and plans; it is a place for brainstorming, creating presentations, image galleries, or cards for learning. Furthermore, this program was included in the list of the Top 100 Tools for Learning amounted by Jane Heart, the establisher of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies. Popplet was new on the list two years ago and ascended its position by 23 places last year.
Speaking about the pros of this technology, one should mention the ability to make mental maps that will help to create visual images, diagrams, blocks of information accessible to all people in the world despite the fact that it is English-language service; the final work can be printed or converted into PDF and JPEG file. Cons of this program include the limited number of the maps that are created (5 pieces), opportunity to use it via telephone; it is also not optimized for the tablets and not a completely free service that can limit some actions.
After conducting an analysis, it can be said that Popplet technology is very effective and useful for students in the work. For example, schemes that are created in this program are used in the preparation of algorithm of the program in the programming. It is an easy way to prepare necessary tasks in a short time being able to realize the imagination without leaving a workplace.
Despite the shortcomings of the program, the results indicate that it is effective, easy, and interesting in use. Students, teachers, and ordinary users can brainstorm their ideas, create mind maps, and co-operate. Also, the biggest plus is that the program provides the wide range of opportunities: creation of plans of stories, answers on the topic, the report protection plans, presentations, cards with the key concepts, a chain of the sequence of events, actions (for the implementation of the function, it is needed to show in the form of presentation, collective photomaps.
To sum up, the use of Popplet as a learning tool not only has a positive effect on the process of learning, but also helps students to get interested in the subject and learning in general. Popplet`s simple interface allows to work and create at the speed of a person's thoughts.
