Online Resource: Ease of Access
Symbaloo
While there are many wonderful resources online, the reality is some teachers shy away from these sources because they find the technology too difficult to use with students. Teachers become turned off by a bad experience or students lack of troubleshooting skills. At the elementary level it can be exhausting just getting students to the correct website, if teachers don't have a system in place to guide young students to the correct content.
This is where Symbaloo comes in! This online program allows users to create webmixes, which are a way to host website links in a visual and organized way. Teachers can update and change the links, while the link to the webmix stays the same. For the SLA/ELA centers I have created links and coded them red for Spanish weeks and blue for English weeks. This mirrors the bilingual colors in the classroom for resources on word walls and anchor charts. Symbaloo allows you to pick icons, words and colors to help visually organize your resources for students. In this activity I also used color to group the different centers.
Steps to Completion:
This is where Symbaloo comes in! This online program allows users to create webmixes, which are a way to host website links in a visual and organized way. Teachers can update and change the links, while the link to the webmix stays the same. For the SLA/ELA centers I have created links and coded them red for Spanish weeks and blue for English weeks. This mirrors the bilingual colors in the classroom for resources on word walls and anchor charts. Symbaloo allows you to pick icons, words and colors to help visually organize your resources for students. In this activity I also used color to group the different centers.
Steps to Completion:
- Teacher creates a Symbaloo account (free). Create a new webmix to link websites used throughout your class or centers activities.
- Teacher makes this link public and shares it with students. The teacher may even what to embed, change their browser's homescreen to Symbaloo or make a bit.ly or tinyurl for even easier access for students.
- Students can click on individual titles and a new webpage will open to the connected site.
- Teachers can add titles, create color groups, create folders and delete tiles as the year progresses.
- Students, teachers and parents can access the teacher's collected resource links from home as well!