Recently we covered InstaGrok in our Wednesday webinar series. Here are a few things we learned about InstaGrok during the webinar.

1. More than a Google Search

In the words of InstaGrok’s founders, their platform is more than a Google Search. With dynamic visual results, a grok gives a student a great visual representation of the topic they are searching. This supports visual learners and makes content much more appealing than simply looking through text.

2. Customizing your Grok

InstaGrok allows the student to take charge of their learning. Choosing which points they want to explore and learn more about while pinning the different information that InstaGrok pulls together for you. Students now have the ability to take ownership of their research.

3. Evaluating Sources

InstaGrok gives you a direct link to the source of everything it finds for you. Even better is that an evaluation of web resources is built right into your Grok. This prompts students to check the credibility of the source and make sure it is appropriate for their research. A form is available for students to fill out asking the important questions about the author, content and everything else that is needed when evaluating credibility for any web resource. This is key to promoting Digital Literacy while students develop skills as a Digital Citizen.

4. Sharing your Grok

A teacher’s or student’s research should not only belong to them, so InstaGrok has made sharing your custom Grok easy! By using the direct URL for your InstaGrok, teachers can share an InstaGrok via email, posting to a website or even by creating a QR code.

5. Journal

A premium feature in InstaGrok allows students to type information, organize images and cite their sources. The journal is associated with a customized grok and allows the student to organize their research even further. Teachers are able to view the student’s journal through the Teacher’s Dashboard.

6. Teacher Dashboard

Premium Accounts for InstaGrok allow a teacher to monitor student activity and research.  Teachers also have the ability to create assignments for specific student research in the Teach Dashboard. Students will get a message about assignments when they log on.

How will you have your students research using InstaGrok??