Group+C+6-B-1

= Home > Group C Workspace > Learning Activity 6-B-1: Explore Read/Write Web Tools =

[|Symbaloo Webmix Sample] The link to our sample Symbaloo webmix can be found at [] Once you arrive- navigation is easy! Simply click on one of the colored tiles to access a favorite student site. The tiles are categorized by color and subject: Green: Language Arts/Spelling & Vocabulary Blue: Math Red: Social Studies

Description of Tool/Service
Symbaloo [|http://edu.symbaloo.com] A *FREE* web-based service that allows you to create a page (known as a ‘webmix’) of visual bookmarks. The are tabbed along the top of the screen. A webmix can consist of links to Google Docs, hyperlinks to websites, or embedded YouTube videos. By being able to embed documents, videos and pictures, your students never have to leave your Symbaloo page. You can create as many webmixes as you would like, organized by topic, theme, or subject area – your imagination is your only limit. Each webmix can be made public or shared among a select few. Each webmix consists of tiles (reminiscent of a Scrabble board), which can be customized by color and organized on the page’s array layout. Once a webmix is created you can always edit the page by moving the tiles around on the page, or between webmixes, you can deleted tiles (and webmixes). You can also alter the size of the array by adding or deleting rows or columns. If you are not ready to create a webmix, Symbaloo Edu has a number of already (teacher) created webmixes.

Random Fact: ‘Symbaloo’ is the Greek word for ‘assembling’. A Plus: You can have a ‘Symbaloo Bookmarklet’ in your browser to easily add websites to your webmix. A Plus: *FREE* with no advertisements.

Educational Examples or Potential Educational Uses
==Symbaloo offers many advantages to all classrooms at any grade level. Symbaloo can be used to organize online resources or images by subject and then accessed by students or teachers. This service can also serve as an online portfolio. Individuals can embed documents, videos and photos to a Symbaloo page to display a student's growth and success. Students may also create their own Symbaloo portfolio to showcase their school achievements. Symbaloo is a service that may be used in classroom stations or centers to help organize learning activities. The color-coded availability makes it easier to navigate and access different links or documents. Students may use Symbaloo when working within a thematic unit to help categorize topics pertaining to the unit of study. It may also be used in a presentation to engage the participants. Teachers can use Symbaloo as a connection between school and homework to post assignments, study guides, web resources and activities. Schools also have potential educational uses with Symbaloo, as they can use this service to display school information and event descriptions for building staff, students, parents or the public.==

__//Creating Your Account //__
==Once you have gone to the Symbaloo website, it is easy to create an account. You will begin by clicking on **Create Free Account**. You will only need a password and an email address. This will enable you to access your webmix from any computer.==

//__**Creating Your Webmix** __//
==To add new tiles to your webmix, you will type the name of the website into the tile search box. Once you have found the link you want, you are ready to add it to the webmix. To add it, click on the green plus sign.== ==As you are working on your webmix, you may decide you want to make changes. You may want to edit a tile, move or copy a tile to another webmix, or you may have something else in mind, you will simply click on the **Edit Webmix**. You will have instructions through the process as you go.==

//__Sharing Your Webmix __//
==Once you have completed your webmix, you are ready to share the webmix. To do this, you will click **Share** on the webmix. You will have two choices for sharing your webmix. You will be able to "Share with the World" or "Share with Friends".==

=="Sharing with the World" will make your webmix available to everyone via Google. It would also be added to the Symbaloo Gallery. The webmix would be submitted to search engines, such as Google and Bing. Being a part of the Symbaloo Gallery, you will be able to keep track of the number of users of your webmix. You need to remember when naming your webmix, to carefully name it and give it a good description so more people will find it and use it.==

=="Sharing with Friends" will keep your webmix private, only to be shared with those you want to share with. You would share it through an invitation on email. I could also be shard via Facebook. The webmix would not become part of the Symbaloo Gallery. When you share the webmix with friends, you will simply copy the link and post it wherever you would like.==