Have you discovered the joy of Symbaloo yet in your classroom? It’s the perfect tool to bookmark websites and share online resources. You can use Symbaloo to organize your own tools as well as share with your students. As many teachers begin distance learning, Symbaloo is definitely a platform you’ll want to introduce to your lucky little learners!

Sign up for Symbaloo

Signing up for Symbaloo is simple and free. Login with your Google account or Clever (for school sign ons). Your students can even sign up to make their own Symbaloo pages if your school provides logons, or you can share your Symbaloo page with curated resources for your students. I definitely recommend the latter approach for your younger learners!

Create Tiles

The bookmarks on Symbaloo are called “tiles”. Creating tiles is a simple task! Just find an empty space on the Symbaloo screen. You can right click to quick add a title or left click for additional options like changing the color or icon. You can even add tiles with embedded links like YouTube videos! The video will play right within Symbaloo. It’s like having your own personal one-page website to share with students and parents! 

Add Webmixes

Webmixes are the collection of tiles. You can view all your Webmixes with the top links on Symbaloo. You’re also able to create a new Webmix with the plus (+) tab. Try making Webmixes for each content area. Share math links and resources on your Math Webmix or reading, writing, and spelling assignments and enrichment on your English Webmix. The possibilities are endless!

How to Use Symbaloo with Your Students

I can’t stop thinking of all the ways Symbaloo can be used at home with distance learning and back in the classroom! Here are some ways this awesome tool can help you, your parents, and your lucky little learners!

Use Symbaloo as your classroom website.

Instead of spending hours creating a Google Site or blog, why not just add tiles to your Symbaloo page. Share important information and announcements from the school or your own classroom announcements via video, docs, or other websites!

Differentiate Instruction

Create a Webmix relevant for different reading or math groups. Symbaloo is the perfect tool to differentiate instruction when you have your lucky little learners work in small group reading or math centers or independently. This is also perfect for distance learning! You could also use one Webmix for each content area and color code the tiles. Let your learners know if they should choose from the red, blue, or yellow tiles, for example, depending on their needs. Let your students and parents know privately what level they are at, and of course, they could move up if they need a challenge!

Share digital resources.

If you haven't shared the Digital Toothy Task Cards with your students yet, Symbaloo provides the perfect platform to share these engaging math and literacy cards. So many teachers love using these cards for review in their classrooms. Each set of cards focuses on multiple math or literacy skills. When students get an answer correct, “Toothy” gets a tooth. If the answer is wrong, they try again. Your kids will love using Digital Toothy cards, and when you post them on Symbaloo, access is easy! 

Go ahead and give Symbaloo a try during distance learning! You'll love all the tools and resources you can share with students and parents!