Symbaloo

One of the sessions I attended this week at #geekcamp13 was on the use of Symbaloo. Linda Horne, teacher extraordinaire and Certified Symbaloo guru, provided an idea-packed workshop on engaging ways to use Symbaloo with students of all ages. 


Symbaloo is a curation tool for visually organizing your favorite websites and documents. Instead of searching through a long list of bookmarks, Symbaloo allows you to design webmixes, using tiles,  that include images and text. You can choose to color-code the backgrounds and group items together. 

Comparing Symbaloo to Pearltrees, another curation tool, I would suggest that Symbaloo is more accessible for students who struggle. The color-coding and visual structure of Symbaloo tiles feels more organized and linear - important for students who may experience attention or organizational difficulties. 

I had the chance to play with Symbaloo and found it very intuitive, and quickly developed this Symbaloo - an iPad app teaser.

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My mind is buzzing with ideas for using Symbaloo in teaching! 

• Set up a webmix for a web quest
• Provide access to your substitute teacher of all websites and documents they might need
• Develop a webmix for the Common Core Standards relevant to your students
• Gather your favorite math sites for student independent practice time
• Students can create a webmix related to a research project
• Show parents various resources and sites for homework help.
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How are you using it?