Creating a Symbaloo Webmix

Need (or just want!) all your bookmarks in one place? Need them to be accessible from any computer?

Check out Symbaloo. I wrote about it before here.

Now I'm going to go through again and give you step by step directions again on creating a webmix and then how to get the URL to make it a page accessible to anyone.

First, you'll need to have a Symbaloo account. It's free and easy. Just go to http://www.symbaloo.com and register.

Now that you've done that, follow the directions below.

1. Click "add a webmix" from the top of the screen.

2. Choose a name for your mix and hit "create my webmix"

3. To add tiles, hover over a blank tile and it will say "add tile". Click.

4. At the top of the screen you can type in the name to see if there is an existing tile. Popular sites will probably already have a tile made. If you can't find an existing tile, click "create  your own tile".

5. This will bring you to a screen where you can put in the website for your tile. Choose how you would like the name to appear and check the box if you want the name to show up on the tile. Choose a background color and an icon for your tile. Then hit "create tile".

6. Now click and drag the tile to where you would like it to be located. You can always move tiles to new locations or delete them.

7. Once you have put all your tiles in you can access the webmix whenever you are logged in to Symbaloo. If you would like others to be able to access your webmix or to be able to save this specific webmix as your homepage on student computers you will want to hit "share".

8. Enter in the name and a description if you'd like. It's not necessary though. Click "share my webmix"

9. On the right side of the screen you will see your URL. Copy this address and share it wherever you need.

If you want it to be the homepage on student computers, go to the computer and log in as a student. Open Internet Explorer and type in the URL for your webmix. Then find the icon on the top toolbar that looks like a house. Click on it to make this Symbaloo webmix the homepage.

Now when students open Internet Explorer they will have the webmix right there. You can put common sites that they will access regularly all right there. You could also create a webmix with sites specific to topics you are working on right now. Change out the homepage as often as you'd like. If you are doing a research project, just have students type in the URL to get to a webmix you create of sites specific to the project. Since they aren't logged in and won't have an account, students won't be able to edit (read: delete or change) anything on the webmix. So it's safe for everyone to use!

You can check out the one I made for a 5th grade project here: http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/explorers4


Online bookmarking websites are not new, but this one is fun looking and user friendly.

Symbaloo

I have recently been introduced to a website called Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a bookmarking website that saves your bookmarks in a unique way. It's also not really JUST a bookmarking site, but a place that you can bookmark files, videos, pictures, and more. These can all be saved on something Symbaloo calls a "webmix" and then accessed all from the same page. I'll show you how some of this works.

After going to http://www.symbaloo.com/ and creating an account, you will see that Symbaloo has given you some automatic webmixes for you to start off with. You can edit them or delete them as you like. 

In the middle of each webmix is a Google search box. This box is also where some of your other icons are viewed.

This is a sample webmix about Dolphins:

When I click on a video, the video views in the middle of the screen right away.

The same is true for pictures:

Both of these came from icons in the webmix. So if you were doing a unit on dolphins, you could store all your resources here and have easy access to them. 

You can also share your webmixes with other teachers and parents, or add students and give students access to the webmixes. 

If you want to find webmixes that are already made, such as the dolphin webmix above, you can search for webmixes on Symbaloo and add them to your tabs. 

Here's how:
Go to the Symbaloo Gallery and enter your search in the box. 

Find one you like and click on it to preview.

The preview will give you a little more information about the webmix and it's author.

Once you add the webmix you like, you will be able to find it again in your tabs.

If you want to create your own webmix, you can go to Add a Webmix to get started.

You will name your webmix:

Then add the address of the website. When you type in the URL and then click in the box to create a tile, Symbaloo will automatically find the name for the tile based on the website you entered. You can then edit the name if you wish.

Then you'll design your tile by choosing a background, icon, and how the name is displayed.

When you are done, click Add Tile To Webmix and drag the tile to the desired location.
It's ready to use!

Repeat these steps each time you have a website, image, or video to add to your webmix.