This post first appeared on Free Technology for Teachers.
One of the most challenging things to tackle in education today is the glut of information that is available to students right in their pocket! With a few swipes, students can come up with thousands of resources; however, evaluating all of those sources serves as a challenge for students. Enter, instaGrok. InstaGrok is a search engine that brings together information in the form of an interactive mind-map, including text, videos, and more. It is available for free online, iOS App, and Android App.
After entering a query, instaGrok creates an interactive mind-map on the topic including multiple sources. Each node builds off of the subsequent one, giving students a visual idea of how concepts and ideas connect. When students select a source from instaGrok, it guides them through a process to help them vet their source by asking a series of questions about the author, publisher, website, and more. When they are finished building their Grok, students can share via email, link, Social Media, and even embed it onto a webpage. Check out this Grok I built on Project Based Learning:
Students can also keep a journal in their Grok and test themselves with quizzes designed by the Grok engine. InstaGrok is a great way for students to begin exploring online content and learning how to vet various sources.
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