Digital Learning Portfolio
Symbaloo
Website Link: http://www.symbaloo.com
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Full Description
Symbaloo is a cloud-based site that allows
users to organize and categorize web links in
the form of buttons. You can use Symbaloo as
Internet-enabled device and create a
personalized virtual desktop accessible
from anywhere. Symbaloo is especially
popular among educators, as it helps them
save, share, and organize their favourite
websites for teaching and learning.
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Classroom Implementation & Educational Rationale
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Make a new Webmix and name it “Alice AI Tool Box”.
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Add buttons for websites by typing their URLs and clicking “+”. For example, add [AI for Everyone] by typing its URL.
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Change the look and name of each button by right-clicking on it and choosing “Edit tile”.
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Move the buttons around to group them by topic.
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Use different colours and add a Webmix marker to label each group of buttons. For example, use blue for AI News, green for AI Video Tools, etc.
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Share my Webmixes with students by clicking “Share”. It allows for the copying/putting of the link on a website or on slides. It can also be made public or private through the use of the “Share” menu.
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I find that Symbaloo is a useful tool for educators to curate and organize online resources for teaching and learning.
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Students or other educators can save and access my bookmarks and favourites from any device or browser.
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It helps me create personalized and engaging lessons that incorporate various media and sources.
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It helps me collaborate and communicate with other educators and students through shared Webmixes.
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Connections to Research
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A study by Graça et al. (2021) found that Symbaloo helped students develop curricular knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are aligned with the 21st-century student profile. The study also suggested that Symbaloo should be integrated into educational practices as a pedagogical tool that enriches the learning process and stimulates self-confidence, skills development, knowledge comprehension, reflection, and argumentation in communication.
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A study by Bouck et al. (2017) found that Symbaloo improved the academic performance and self-efficacy of students with disabilities in an online course. The study also found that Symbaloo reduced the cognitive load and navigation difficulties of the students, as well as increased their satisfaction and engagement with the course content.
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A study by Kocaman-Karoglu (2015) found that Symbaloo enhanced the digital literacy and information literacy skills of pre-service teachers. The study also found that Symbaloo increased the awareness and usage of web 2.0 tools among the pre-service teachers, as well as facilitated their collaboration and communication with their peers and instructors.
Reference
Bouck, E. C., Park, J., Sprick, J., Shurr, J., Bassette, L., & Whorley, A. (2017). A comparison of concrete and app-based manipulatives for students with disabilities in an online course. Journal of Special Education Technology, 32(3), 135-146.
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Graça, J., Godinho, C. A., & Ferreira, R. (2021). On the relationship between authentic leadership, team performance, and flourishing in healthcare teams. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 692433
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Kocaman-Karoglu, A. (2015). Analyzing digital literacy skills among early childhood education students: A case study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 182, 718-725.
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