Scoop.it is an online community that allows users to create a topic board and add websites that go along with the topic. When you scoop (or add) a website to your topic board, it shows a picture of the document along with a brief summary. It reminds me a lot of Pinterest. Scoop.it is a free tool, but you can only have two topic boards. If you want more, you have to pay for it. Scoop.it will download an icon called "Bookmarklet" to the toolbar that allows you to easily add the web document to your board with the click of a button. It also has a suggested search option that will pull up articles that may pertain to your topic. It has an app for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. With the free version, you can connect your Scoop.it account to two other social networking accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Scoop.it allows you to follow other boards that interest you. All you have to do is click on the follow button, and the posts from that board will show up on your dashboard page when you log in. So, that means that users can also follow your boards if they find them useful.
Watch the video below for a brief tutorial on using Scoop.it.
I am a very visual person, so I like how Scoop.it shows the picture of the article on the topic board. I also like how you can move your content around in to a different order on your topic board. It is very user-friendly, and you do not have to have a link or account to view the board.
Scoop.it is a great collaborative tool that students can use in the classroom. For research projects, teachers could create a Scoop.it with websites that students should use to find information. Or, students could create their own Scoop.it board to help them keep track of useful websites for their research.
For more ideas about using Scoop.it in the classroom visit: http://www.teachthought.com/technology/why-scoopit-is-becoming-an-indispensable-learning-tool/
In addition, Scoop.it can be used as a personal learning network for educators. Educators can bookmark certain articles, ideas, or information that can be used in the classroom. Educators can follow other topic boards and bookmark anything they find useful.
I created two boards: Diverse Learners and Personal Learning Networks. The links are posted below. Please check them out!
This is a great tool for our students because it is web based. So often, our kids bookmark sites on a specific computer and then they can't access them when using a different computer. The same is true for different web browsers. I like scoop.it because you can access it from any computer or web browser.
ReplyDeleteI have never used scoop.it! Thanks for sharing about it - I agree the visual layout would be nice for students. Thanks for the links to your specific boards. There are some excellent resources there!
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