Classroom management in technology usage is an important, yet sometimes overlooked part of
TPACK. Without proper and effective management, precious teaching and learning time can be wasted. I have used
Symbaloo to organize and keep track of my favorite links personally for a while. However, it never occurred to me to use Symbaloo as a classroom management tool. A colleague shared with me a few weeks ago how they use Symbaloo in their computer lab. Her Symbaloo account holds each grade level's personalized webmix and is set as the homepage on all the lab computers. When students sit down at the computer and open Internet Explorer all they have to do is find their grade level's webmix tab and they are ready to begin. Brilliant!! The more I thought about this brilliant idea my mind wandered to additional ways Symbaloo could be used for classroom management. Here are a few webmix ideas that came to mind:
- Grade level (Thank you Kris Davis!)
- Subject Area (Reading, Math, Writing, Science)
- Class Period (For upper grades)
- Leveled Work for Students (For differentiated work)
- 4C's - Collaboration sites, Communication sites, Creation Sites
- Sites for Homework (Simply place a link to your Symbaloo or embed it on your class blog or website)
In the past I have wasted so much of my planning time adding links to the desktop on
all the computers in the lab or my classroom. Or I have had to bug someone with an administrator account to add links to the desktop for me. My problem is now solved... and it is so simple! When I find websites I want my students to use frequently, I simply login to my account, add the link to a tile... and I'm finished! The next time students open the web browser whether it be on the computers in the lab, computers in my classroom, or the iPad, they can easily access the links.
If you are not familiar with
Symbaloo check out the video below for a quick overview.
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