Week #2

               Curation is essential in the technological world to organize, remember, and use past websites and applications. Due to the expansion of technology, teachers must try to use some type of curating website to track websites that aided in the explanation or application of a lesson. Some teachers may use favourites or bookmarks, however, the disadvantage is that those sites only remain on that computer. Technology and its advancements may seem overwhelming, but if one can organize there courses in a manner that saves time, both the students and the teacher will benefit.

               We have learned about a few curating websites that are created solely for an organizational purpose. The site I liked best that we learned about was called Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a very visually organized site that allows you to create different tiles to organize and track sites. It is also very user-friendly because a google search bar is located right in the center of all the tiles. This makes it easy to use and search without having to go between two different website pages. In Symbaloo you can make as many "webmixs" as you want, according to similarities of the topics or usages.  

               I feel Symbaloo could be a very helpful teacher tool, as you could include different websites related to that specific course or subject. For example, on your teacher homepage for a course, you could embed the Symbaloo related to that course right on the teacher's class website. This would make it easy for students to access different websites, that you have approved, and feel would be beneficial for their learning. I also feel Symbaloo is very user-friendly especially for students who may have learning disabilities. Symbaloo does not contain a lot of text on the page, but uses symbols that relate to that site. I feel this may be helpful to some students who have trouble reading, but who are able to match different pictures, for example with math games that they often play. Symbaloo can also be used to publicly share different webmixs, which expands the knowledge and ability, instead of having a private Symbaloo. Teachers may find different websites they feel they can use in their classroom through Symbaloo. A teacher could also have a Symbaloo webmix dedicated to parents who visit their class home page. They could include websites that educate parents on different development changes in their son or daughter, sites that help the parents address issues related to different teen struggles, and many more. There are many uses of Symbaloo and different webmixs, that I feel will be very beneficial to the classroom.