Research pathfinders using sqworl – a social bookmarking

Research Pathfinders Using Sqworl – A Social Bookmarking Tool

Image Courtesy of Sqworl.com

You’ll go nuts over Sqworl!

• Research pathfinders are tools created by teachers or media specialists to help students locate information on a topic or subject area. The resources can be print or non-print and are pre-selected. This creates a reliable and relevant research guide for the students, and it also helps reduce the chances of students getting on a site that is not appropriate. Using Sqworl, a social bookmarking Web 2.0 tool, is a quick and easy way for teachers to create a pathfinder.

What is a pathfinder?

• Sqworl’s creator, Caleb Brown, has brought us into the 21st Century with this tool. The great thing about a social bookmarking tool is that it allows you to access your favorite websites on any computer that has Internet capability. You can also share your Sqworl “groups” with others and follow other “groups” made in Sqworl. Trust me, you’ll go nuts over Sqworl!

What is a social bookmarking tool?

What’s wrong with the old way we used to do things?We aren’t doing our 21st Century students any favors if we don’t use the technology available to them for the

development of information literacy skills.

Educators will say, “I don’t know how to use technology.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or Einstein to

do this!

Even I can do

it!

• New Hope Solebury High School Pathfinder• Turn of the Century Pathfinder• Media Center Mythology• Historical Georgia Figures

Research Pathfinder Examples

Lesson Objective

• To create a Sqworl account and create a research pathfinder using the Georgia Performance Standards

Let’s Get Started

• Go to sqworl.com• Click on “register” in top right

corner• Register for a free account using

the steps provided

• Page says …“You have no groups…add some”. Click on “add some”.

• Type in group title and description and then click “start”. Choose a standard and develop a group of websites around that standard.

• Your public URL for that group is displayed. If you want to share this group with a friend, they can use this URL. Next, add some links to this group. Type in or copy/paste the website address you want to place in this group. Click add. A small screenshot should appear with the description. You can continue adding websites to this group.

• Click on your username at the top right. The next screen should be a listing of your groups.• If you want to delete a website from

a group, click on the edit button located on the group, find the screenshot for the site, and click the red minus sign to delete it.

• Scroll to the bottom to find “Sqworl Tools”. Click and drag the Sqworl bookmarklet to your bookmark bar.

• In the search box, type in the group name you just created or its description. Groups belonging to other people will appear. If there is only one screenshot that you seem interested in keeping, click on it and your browser will take you to that address. If you like everything you see within that group, you can scroll to the bottom and click on the heart to follow that group.

• Now click on your username in the top right corner. You will see the group or groups you are following. You can always remove a group and “unfollow” it by clicking on the heart again.

• Open another tab in your browser. To add a website to your Sqworl account without having to copy/paste it into your group, you can use the bookmarklet. Find a website you would like to keep. Click on the “add to sqworl” bookmarklet. A window will pop up asking for some information. Click the down arrow under “add to” and you will see the names of your groups. Choose which group you want to add to and give a brief description of the site. Click “add URL” and the site will automatically be added to that group without having to copy/paste.

• If you want to add the site, but yet you don’t have a group for that topic, you can create the group and add the URL from this same window. A green box should appear that says “URL added”.

Congratulations!

• You have successfully set up a Sqworl account and begun a research pathfinder.

• Helpful hint: If you’ll make your Sqworl account your home page, then everytime you find a site you want to keep, you can easily use the bookmarklet to save it to your groups. You must be logged in to your Sqworl account in order to use the bookmarklet.

Distance Learning Module

ScreencastsPower Point

Assessment Surveyhttp://

mrsbryantles.weebly.com/professional-development.html

Credits

• Most images in this presentation were from public domain websites.

Other images used were from…www.cwu.eduwww.seekyt.com

Created by: Laurie Bryant