Symbaloo is an online webmix tool that allows you to organize your bookmarks into an attractive and easy to access group of tiles. How does it work? Once you have signed up (for FREE), you can search for previously created webmixes or make your own. When making your own webmixes, you can search for tiles (links to websites already created by other users) or make you own using Symbaloo or personally provided graphics. With color coding and the ability to include a name on each tile, organization is both easy and intuitive. Some of the other features that make Symbaloo attractive include the following:
On April 9, 2013, a new version of Symbaloo will be released and it promises to be even easier to use than the current release. Check back for updated tutorials a couple of weeks after the new release!
In the meantime, use the tutorial below to help you get started with your first Symbaloo!
Google Drive is a tool that has made my list of favorites since I first tried it in October, 2012. It is very similar to iCloud; however, it has a warm fuzzy feeling for PC users and works equally well on both Windows and Mac operating systems.
Google Drive has many features that make it an ideal solution for students and faculty.
Files can be directly uploaded to Google Drive.
A Google Drive App (for lack of a better term) can be downloaded to a computer and files placed in the Google Drive folder synchronized with the online component of Google Drive (there are specific settings that control this).
Files uploaded or synchronized to the online Google Drive can be shared with others in multiple ways. The easiest way to share a file is to email or submit the link to the file.
Google Drive comes with 5GB of storage for FREE and additional amounts of storage can be purchased for very reasonable prices. For example, 25GB of storage is only $2.49 per month (less than $30.00 per year). Use of Google Drive for submission of video files and large assignment files can easily consume 5GB in a semester; however, files can be added and removed from the drive at any time so with a little file maintenance running out of space is not an issue.
To get started using Google Drive, you should do the following:
Login to your Google Account - if you do not have one, you can easily get one using your current email address - no Gmail account required!
Go to drive.google.com. You can do this first and login when prompted.
Sign up for Google Drive and download the computer portion.
Adjust the settings for your Google Drive.
Get started using it.
It may be a good idea to view a tutorial on getting started with Google Drive before you take the plunge.
Once you feel comfortable with managing Google Drive online, you may want to download the computer component and begin synchronizing files.
As with any new technology, go slowly, practice, and never put anything you absolutely have to have on it until you feel comfortable with its use! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!
