BP4_SymbalooEDU

What is a symbol?

A word, phrase, image, or the like having a complex of associated meanings and perceived as having inherent value separable from that which is symbolized, as being part of that which is symbolized, and as performing its normal function of standing for or representing that which is symbolized: usually conceived as deriving its meaning chiefly from the structure in which it appears, and generally distinguished from a sign. - Dictionary.com

In today's world it seems everything is tied to a brand logo, which could be defined as symbolizing a company, product, person, etc. All of us could instantaneously identify hundreds upon hundreds of company logos/symbols. This is especially true for our students because they've grown up in such a digitized and commercialized age that these logos automatically generate meanings for them. For instance, who does not know what these logos are associated with?

(http://bit.ly/gfmWiI)

What if you could harness visual symbols in one place in an organized and useful way?  That's precisely what SymbalooEDU aims to do and a ton more. SymbalooEDU is a personalized learning environment (PLE). It's fun, simple to use, and FREE. It takes what we see everyday, visual symbols, and links them with sites, widgets, and other tools. It compiles them into one comprehensive environment for us to reference and use. I'm sure you're thinking, well, how is this different from other bookmarking tools? It's completely different. It's r/evolutionary!!!

(http://www.symbalooedu.com/)

 Symbaloo is simple enough for students and teachers to use. It is like a visual version of iGoogle. 

1. Create

Sign up and you are given a default Symbaloo page with some interesting links to start. This page as well as all the others are completely customizable. You can embed images, videos, and even Slideshare presentations. You can create tabs, also known as webmixes for different categories, just like on iGoogle. 

There are numerous types of tiles you can add:

1. Links - these take you straight to those sites

2. Newsfeeds - Read RSS feeds from these sites right in the center window pane

3. Search modules - search sites like Google and Wikipedia right from SymbalooEDU

4. Radio - listen to the radio right from the page!!! 

5. Widgets - Open up small applications right in the center window

You can customize your start screen, how new items open, and color code. This tool is useful in so many ways.

Just to name a few:

• study group resource pages
• classroom resources
• links to quizzes and discussion forums
• links to Googledocs
• e-portfolio
• personalized homepage with all your relevant tools, calendar, weather, etc.

2. Share

Teachers can share there webmixes with there students and other teachers. Students can share their webmixes with other students and teachers. Everyone can share their webmixes with the public!! Endless collaborative opportunities. You can share privately to a small group or if you post publicly your webmix will be included in search engine results. SymbalooEDU also has teacher forums set up for teachers to share their resources and experiences. There are free webinars to help train teachers and students on how to use the tool and get the most out of it.


3. Discover

 

Utilize the best webmixes tab to explore compilations from SymbalooEDU. Search public webmixes to find more cool and useful stuff. 

This tool could be useful in any classroom and with any age group. It makes learning both social and personalized at the same time.

I will be recommending this to both the students and professors at my university. Most of all I recommend it to all of you!!! We've seen how great iGoogle is and I know many of us are very visual people. I think SymbalooEDU provides that visual link that so many of us enjoy. We could use this in our CBR program to collect resources and other interesting links. I'd love to compile all the links and Web2.0 tools into one webmix for our class/program and share it with everyone. If anyone's interested in helping me get this together let me know.

I am going to start using this instead of my iGoogle page or at least in conjunction with it at first. I think this tool will help me organize my information in a way that is pertinent and useful to me. Hope you all try it out and enjoy it!

(All screenshot credits: www.symbalooedu.com)