I started using Symbaloo about a week ago in my classroom. I had set up a page with links for 1st Grade over the summer but only started using it in the last month. I do like it but it is NOT a snap to get started!
I needed to watch several tutorial vids just to figure out what to do to get started. Then I had to search to find the answer to every little thing I wanted to do. I was able to find the answers quickly but it was still kind of a pain. Why can't companies make a simple "how to get up and running in 20 min" guide?!? I ran into this same problem with Edmodo. So glad I had two weeks to fool around with that before I really needed it.
Anyway, back to Symbaloo. Adding tiles is a little clunky but once you get the hang of it it's worth the trouble. I do need to figure out how to stop the links from opening up in a new window - some of the kids had more than 20 windows open when it was time to leave the lab!
Oh, if you love for things to look cute like me you will spend even MORE time setting up your Symbaloo. It is possible to make big pictures with your tiles acting as "puzzle pieces" of sorts. Check out the screen shot of my 1st Grade Symbaloo below. Go here to try the links.
Sweet, right? I totally spent an hour and a half figuring out how to do this. I will share the details in another blog post.
I do plan to become Symbaloo Certified...
Just have to figure out when I'm going to do it.
Are you using Symbaloo? What are your thoughts? Please share below.
I felt/feel the same way about symbaloo! I keep going back to it because I do like the ease for young students but it doesn't feel super user friendly to create the board. I've also had several problems using symbaloos created by others with links that don't work, etc. I love the puzzle look of your boards! Will have to figure that out! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI felt/feel the same way about symbaloo! I keep going back to it because I do like the ease for young students but it doesn't feel super user friendly to create the board. I've also had several problems using symbaloos created by others with links that don't work, etc. I love the puzzle look of your boards! Will have to figure that out! Thanks for sharing!
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