Organizing your online life
I need some sense of direction or guidance when it comes to venturing out into an unfamiliar realm, especially one as limitless and confusing as the internet can be. As I pull out my compass and map, I start to realize that organizing an online life is much like organizing our daily schedules. There are varying degrees of order that can be seen with the likes of: colored tabs in folders, daily planners, calendars with different colored markers that correspond with different subjects, etc. However, perhaps needless to say, it is infinitely more complex when dealing with technology. That doesn't necessarily mean that complexity is synonymous with difficulty, especially with the various tools at our disposal. For example, most of us today are aware of a few common tools that make online activities simpler and more efficient: google and wikipedia are arguable the most common of the sort. I was recently introduced to a new (for me) tool that also enhances searching, but this specific website is engineered to help teachers and students engage in a virtual world of learning. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Gooru.
*Notice*- The site does require some experimenting before getting comfortable with all of the customizable features. It is not as easy to use as google, but I feel it is much more useful and versatile. I recommend watching the tutorial found on the home page: http://www.goorulearning.org/#!discover
A brief overview of Gooru:
1) It is a search engine for learning that allows teachers to discover a topic related to learning. Unlike many other search engines, however, Gooru is explicitly designed to search for teaching tools. While searching, a member of Gooru (it's free) can filter the search to a degree I have never before seen. Search filters include grade level, subject area, even standards for teaching! For example, an earth science teacher can narrow a search of volcanoes down to {videos} for {high school}.
*Once I have found a tool that teaches me how to properly use screenshots, this post will (hopefully) be of much more use.
2) Once you have found a search that meets the criteria you desire, you are free to organize your findings into a customized playlist. Let me extrapolate. This site allows a teacher to form what's called a collection: a list of materials he/she would like to compile into a focused lesson. For example, (keeping with the science teacher) a biology teacher can create a collection of "The Cell" or "Mitosis". After finding an appropriate set of materials that correlate with each title, all the teacher has to do is drag and drop the selected item into the collection. Once there, the user is free to edit, customize, and supplement the material with links and guides. The "share" option allows the teacher the option to create links to make the material public, open for sharing, or private. Another cool feature of Gooru is not all of the organizing needs to be done by the teacher. There are plenty of already existing collections that you can choose to use faithfully, or edit to your preference.
3) once collections are created, the user has the option to create a lesson that can be interactive for students. If you select the "sharing" option, the teacher is given a link that he/she can give to the students. The link will direct them to the collection the teacher has created which allows students to work through the lesson at their own pace and leisure. This teach option is incredibly versatile and permits the teacher to use several different methods to integrate into the lesson.
4) The fourth and final quadrant of this site allows students to study material provided by the teacher. This is a feature much more confined to the activities offered and constructed by the instructor. Similar to the teach compartment, the study feature can be a powerpoint, list of notes, online quiz, or a combination of them all.
In short, it is a personalized study session for students that can be organized and controlled by the teacher.
As I begin to explore these new tools available online, I can't help but feel overwhelmed with all of the possibilities. In saying that, I am excited to practice working with sites like this that will no doubt give me advantages I would otherwise not have. I am looking forward to learning about the other sites in class tomorrow, in hopes of further expanding my knowledge of ways to organize my online life.
Mr. Wilson
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