What it is: Simply Box appeals to my inner organization enthusiast. Simply Box is a web tool that allows users to capture content from any web page and put it into a box. I love the visual interface of Simply Box. Inside a box is the collection of resources that you have collected from around the web. You actually see the website (this is a huge deal for people who see a lot of websites each day), I may not remember a website by its title or description but I will most certainly remember it by its picture. Within a box you can rearrange websites by clicking and dragging them to a new place on the screen. Boxes can further be organized into containers. For example I may have a math website container with boxes inside such as virtual manipulatives, games, videos, etc. Simply Box has a very user friendly interface that lets you drag and drop to organize containers, boxes, and materials. Simply Box makes collaboration easy. Send your Simply Box to another Simply Box user and each of you can comment and add to boxes. A non-simply box user will be able to see all of the content but will not be able to add to it.
How to integrate Simply Box into the classroom: Simply Box is an outstanding way to keep the online classroom resources you find organized. Share your boxes with colleagues and collaborate about resources you find and how they might be used in the classroom. Use Simply Box to build guided lessons for students. Collect all the resources (websites) they need to complete a project. Create an Internet scavenger hunt for students to complete in a safe, more controlled online environment. Students can also use Simply Box. Students can work together on class projects, collecting research and other materials together. Assign Simply Box as homework and include students in the creation of the next-day lesson. Assign a topic, the student’s job is to find a few quality websites on the subject and add them to the class Simply Box. The next day go through the students finds as a class to learn about the new topic. As you continue learning about the topic, new finds can be added to the Simply Box. When it comes time to complete a project or study for a test, all of the resources are gathered in one place for students. You could essentially create your own ‘textbooks’ with the help of students.
Tips: Simply Box requires an Internet plugin to work. If you need a tech admin to install a plugin on classroom computers or your work computer, get the request in so you can organize your school year from the start.
Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Simply Box in your classroom.
I’m very excited about this resource! In my district, you have to attend a special 2 day class in order to put up a website for the computer lab. 🙁 However, this will allow me to gather webshots of each website into a folder for each grade, and essentially do what I wanted…. have one place for students to go that will direct them to specific websites. Thanks for sharing!
OK, so I’m revising my earlier opinion. 🙂 This is a great resource for collaboration, but not for doing the web site grouping- too many weird ways for little fingers to click & get totally lost. But now I’m inspired to find another work-around for a lab website!