Applying Mindtools across many disciplines

A few students have blogged their frustrations that there don't seem to be many technologies applicable to their specific fields (such as history, language learning, home ec, etc.). Remember that there are subject-specific technologies, like geometer sketchpad, that only work for one subject. There are also Mindtools (remember our article we read at the beginning of the year by David Jonassen, still available on Blackboard--you can also search for "mindtools" on Google and gets lots of stuff). Mindtools are great because they support higher-level learning in any subject. They are subject-independent; they are merely learning tools. Examples of these types of technologies are Excel, Concept-mapping tools, web authoring, desktop publishing tools (like Publisher and InDesign), and others.

Here are two other content-independent technologies that with creativity can be used for many different disciplines:

One is Muds and Moos and MUVEs. They sound weird, I know, but they can be useful. These are virtual online worlds, where students "enter" a place and can interact with different objects in the room. Think Legend of Zelda, except with an instructional instead of entertainment purpose. I'll bet there are some out there built around Roman society where students could "experience" life in Roman society ... virtually. I've also been to a Shakespeare one that pretends to let you experience Shakespearean England.

I've also seen a very well-developed virtual world used to teach environmental issues and social studies. The students go on an expedition and enter "Atlantis," where a young lady of Atlantis pleads with the students to help her save her nation. They are suffering from a burgeoning population, corrupt governments, and many of the same social and environmental issues that we deal with. The students have to solve the problems in "Atlantis" and they can see the results on the screen of their decisions. This helps them understand how policy and culture affect our own world.

A second useful tool that can be creatively applied to many disciplines is computer-supported collaboration. This is stuff like blogs, wikis, discussion boards, instant messenging, etc. With these technologies, you can hold "debates" with "political philosophers" through online communication. Or, you can help students communicate with real or pretend "authorities" on a certain subject. For example, I heard of one teacher who asked a Literature professor from the University to pretend to be "Shakespeare" in a chat room, and her high school lit students asked "Will" questions about his life and writings. You could do a similar thing with famous people in any discipline--just find someone who really knows the person to pretend to be the person. The kids know it's just pretend, but it's still a fun and different way to learn about somebody.

What other ideas do you have of "subject-independent" technologies that could easily be used for many different subjects?