Every teacher's FIRST question: Is it user friendly?!

If this isn't your first question when looking at a new online tool or resource to use with your students, then I'm not sure what is. (It definitely should be!) We've all asked ourselves this at one point or another. Thinking of ways to explain how to access or login to a resource to my students is where my head IMMEDIATELY goes when I'm exploring new tools. This week, I explored some ways to help ease that anxiety and and angst about user friendliness!

Allow me to introduce you to SYMBALOO! Watch the short video below for a full explanation on what Symbaloo is and has to offer you in your classroom!

Do you have several resources or tools that you already use regularly in your classroom? Does your team of teachers use different platforms or learning management systems? Are you working on a unit where students need quick access to specific resources and websites? Symbaloo is PERFECT for you. It creates quicklinks to all of your tools and because it is live it can be customized and changed at any point. And the biggest appeal of them all is the visual appeal that Symbaloo offers to your students. Not only are the "tiles" live links, but you can also customize the image on the tile so students can easily navigate where they need to go. Still not convinced? Take a look below at the webmix that I use with my students. I've updated it over the past two years to reflect the tools, resources, and websites that my 6th grade students will need throughout the year. 

So it answer the first question: Is it user friendly? ABSOLUTELY. Students are not required to login to anything when you send the link to your class Symbaloo. Even better, Symbaloo allows you to embed your webmix (as I have done above) into just about any website or platform. This means that your students have EASY and clickable access to all of your links and tools at any point. 

Is creating your own webmix user friendly, too? 100% yes! Because Symbaloo has so many users, you can search for tiles, such as Google Drive or Outlooks, that are popular and pre-created by other users. This not only makes creation easy but it also saves you a ton of time! Can't find the tile you're looking for or want to create a tile that sends your students to a very specific website? No problem! Create you own with just a few more steps and you can even customize the image that will appear on the tile for your students to see! 

STILL not convinced that you need Symbaloo in your life and in your classroom?! Click HERE to read 11 ways that you could create a webmix to improve your teaching, parent communication, and even your lesson planning!