A search engine that provides a digital conversation, happy grokking!

I had the opportunity, the privilege really, of presenting with Eric Sheniger and Carrie Jackson at this years Learning Forward conference. The topic was “Being Connected: It’s No Longer an Option”.

This conversation is a blog post in itself. Eric shared a tool I hadn’t seen before. InstaGrok. InstaGrok is a way to conduct informal online research as a starting point for more in-depth learning. What a thought provoking way to introduce a concept for students. It create a concept map with connected websites, videos, and images, all related to the topic you are searching for.

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Starting a search is easy. Type in a topic or concept that you want to research. If you are researching a person, type their first and last name. A concept map will appear. You can click on any bubble to go deeper into that area of the map.

To add a research fact to your map click on the pin next to the fact on the key fact section on the right hand side. To view the web sites that populate the facts, click on more next to websites on the right hand side. You can narrow down websites by concepts by clicking on the concepts on the right hand side. Once you find the website you want to use, click on the pin to add it to your map, and/or click on the link to go to the website. To view the web sites that relate to the facts, click on more next to videos on the right hand side. You can select the difficult level with the bar at the top of the page or by looking at the icons (chalk board means easy, cap means middle to high, and the Einstein means high). This works for web sites and facts too!

There are options to journal within the program and also to create a quiz. I think this would be a great starting place to jumpstart conversations within your classroom on a n concept you’re introducing to your students. It would also be an excellent opportunity to discuss the need to verify and ascertain informations’ credibility that can be found online.

Modeling finding and verifying accurate and credible resources is a skill that students of all ages need, and by using a fun, engaging tool, you can have that conversation without sounding “anti- internet”.

serachingly,

Amber

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