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Site Review: CollaborizeClassroom.com

Site URL:  CollaborizeClassroom.com  

Content:  Less a resource, and more a tool, CollaborizeClassroom provides teachers with a medium for engaging students in classroom discussion outside of the classroom.

Using a social-media approach, students can log into a discussion and engage with both peers and educators to continue the learning process long after the bell has rung. Teachers can post lecture videos and other materials to further the discussion.

Design:  The main navigation page is simple, providing a tab for most recent and most popular discussions as well as discussions that are ending soon. Once engaged, the site maintains its simplicity with a series of clean dialog boxes that run vertically as the conversation continues.

Video is embedded, so there are no pop-ups or redirects to outside pages. The use of polls is an easy and effective way of gauging student opinions on literally anything a teacher could think to ask.

Review:  CollaborizeClassroom takes the classroom model of the teacher dictating to the students and dramatically changes it, creating an open discussion. While time constraints and student personalities often make lively classroom discussions difficult, this site makes them a real-time reality.

Ironically, the site's best feature could also be a negative. The whole site depends on students being motivated and conscientious enough to log in after school hours. If an educator can successfully overcome that hurdle, this site is really worth the effort.

Bottom Line:  Open discussions, interactive video, student polls and a social-media feel make CollaborizeClassroom a very handy tool--if you can get kids to log in, that is.

 

Article by Jason Tomaszewski, EducationWorld Associate Editor
Education World
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