Mr. Harvey today wrote a great blog post about using web quests in your classroom. As Mr. Harvey said, web quests are not unguided Google searches! For a middle school web quest it helps to supply students with a set of links that they can use to find their answers. There are many different ways to distribute links to students. Today I want to introduce you to a visual bookmarking tool called Symbaloo.
Symbaloo is a cloud based service that can be accessed from anywhere (including an app for both the iPhone and Android operating systems). Symbaloo users create web mixes that can be published and shared with both students and other teachers. A web mix is a series of tiles that links to content on the internet (websites, YouTube videos, pictures, etc). Symbaloo is a great option for sharing longer or difficult to type URLS and for helping visual learners. Since web mixes can be updated frequently, Symbaloo is a great option for creating a virtual textbook for your class. Click here to check out a sample web mix about Dolphins. If you want more information or want to sign up for Symbaloo make sure to visit http://www.edu.symbaloo.com.