Web tools to support inquiry-based learningSuitable for teachers and students. You will need to explore the inquiry learning phases and web tools listed below to work out which ones are best for your classroom environment. If you have an absolute, favourite web tool that you use to support inquiry-based learning, I’d love to hear from you. Click here to share your web tool and I will add it to the list below. The inquiry phases referred to below come from: Information skills in the school New South Wales Department of Education and Communities Guided Inquiry Design: A Framework for Inquiry in Your School by Carol C Kuhlthau, Leslie K Maniotes and Anne K Caspari. View the webinar on my review of the Guided Inquiry framework. The eight phase framework is based on Kuhlthau’s studies of the information search process of students and provides a model that helps you guide students through the discovery process of learning from a variety of sources of information. In 2012, Karen Bonanno was granted permission by the authors of Guided Inquiry Design:A Framework for Inquiry in Your School, Carol Kuhlthau, Leslie Maniotes and Ann Caspari, to develop a scope and sequence tying the five kinds of learning to the inquiry skills and general capabilities in the Australian Curriculum. More information about this scope and sequence can be found at F-10 Inquiry Skills Scope and Sequence & F-10 Core Skills and Tools. |
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[Last updated 27 February 2015]
| Inquiry phase | Title | Description | Web link |
| Open / ImmerseDefining | Bubbl.us | Brainstorming and mind mapping tool | https://bubbl.us/ |
| eduCanon | An online learning environment to build and share interactive video lessons | http://www.educanon.com/ | |
| Lino | Sticky note – good for brainstorming | http://en.linoit.com/ | |
| Mindmeister | Online mind mapping software | http://www.mindmeister.com/ | |
| National Geographic – Video | Videos to stimulate interest – geography, archaeology, natural science, environmental & historical conservation. | http://video.nationalgeographic.com.au/ | |
| Poll Everywhere | K12 student response system – ask a question…get a response. | http://www.polleverywhere.com/k12-student-response-system | |
| Popplet | Capture and organise your ideas. Use as a mind-map, capture facts, thoughts and images and create relationships between them. | http://popplet.com/ | |
| Spiderscribe | Online mind mapping and brainstorming tool | http://www.spiderscribe.net/ | |
| Stoodle | Free online collaborative whiteboard. | http://stoodle.ck12.org/ | |
| Stormboard | Stormboard is an online brainstorming and collaboration platform. The name comes from a combination of brainstorm and whiteboard. | http://stormboard.com/ | |
| TED-Ed | Education talks that can be used as a stimulus to engage students in the inquiry process. | http://ed.ted.com/ | |
| Text2MindMap | Creates a mind map using text. | http://www.text2mindmap.com/ | |
| Youtube | Videos that can be used as a stimulus to engage students in the inquiry process. | http://www.youtube.com/ | |
| Padlet (Wallwisher) | Build a wall and then post notes. | http://padlet.com/ | |
| Socrative | Smart student response system that allows the teacher to interact with the students – quizzes, games, exercises. Good for pre-assessment, collecting background knowledge & reflection. | http://socrative.com/ | |
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| ExploreLocating | Bibme | Fully automated bibliography maker that auto-fills for book, magazine, newspaper, website, journal, film entries and more. | http://www.bibme.org/ |
| Compfight | A Flickr search tool – an image search engine | http://compfight.com/ | |
| DuckDuckGo | Easy to use search tools for students. | http://duckduckgo.com/ | |
| EasyBib | EasyBib is an intuitive information literacy platform that provides citation, note taking, and research tools that are easy-to-use. | http://easybib.com/ | |
| GoGooligans.com | A safe search tool for ‘kids & teens’ – educational / academic search engine. | http://www.lures.info/childrens_search/gogooligans.html | |
| Infotopia | A K-12 search engine. | http://www.infotopia.info/ | |
| InstaGrok | Presents your topic in an interactive visual display – interactive concept map format | http://www.instagrok.com/ | |
| Kidtopia | Search engine for elementary / primary students, especially suitable for PK-3. | http://www.kidtopia.info/ | |
| Mashpedia | A video encyclopedia which combines the power of YouTube and Wikipedia. | http://www.mashpedia.com/ | |
| Noodle Tools Express | Grab quick citations in MLA, APA or Chicago format | http://www.noodletools.com/login.php | |
| Photobucket | Photos and videos in copyright-friendly environment. | http://beta.photobucket.com/ | |
| Quintura for kids | Visual search engine | http://quinturakids.com/ | |
| Search-cube | Searches for images, videos and/or web pages and then presents it the links as a visual cube. | http://search-cube.com | |
| Simple Wikipedia | An simple online encyclopedia – great to help students develop background knowledge. | http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page | |
| SlimeKids | Search engines for kids – top 20 engines / directories. | http://www.slimekids.com/search-engines/ | |
| WikiSummarizer | Presents search results as a visual map, a list or word cloud. | http://www.wikisummarizer.com/ | |
| ————– | |||
| Identify Defining | Questioning Toolkit | Help students develop powerful questioning strategies and techniques. | http://www.fno.org/nov97/toolkit.html |
| The Knowledge Compass | To help you ‘stay on track’ and not get lost along the way why not use the KNOWLEDGE COMPASS to help you ask the right questions | http://knowledgecompass.weebly.com | |
| ————– | |||
| Gather Selecting | Bibme | Fully automated bibliography maker that auto-fills for book, magazine, newspaper, website, journal, film entries and more. | http://www.bibme.org/ |
| Compfight | A Flickr search tool – an image search engine | http://compfight.com/ | |
| Diigo | Collete and organise anything – capture, store, tag, recall and share. | http://www.diigo.com/ | |
| EasyBib | EasyBib is an intuitive information literacy platform that provides citation, note taking, and research tools that are easy-to-use. | http://easybib.com/ | |
| Evernote | A space where you can capture your notes, web clips, files, images. Collect your information into the one single place. You can also share and collaborate. | http://evernote.com/ | |
| Kaboompics | A collection of good quality photos offered for free to bloggers, website owners, small businesses, freelancers & social media ninjas | http://kaboompics.com/ | |
| Lino | Sticky note | http://en.linoit.com/ | |
| Netvibes | A personalised publishing platform that can capture everything you want to share. | http://www.netvibes.com/en | |
| Pearltree | This is a visual and collaborative space that lets you collect, organise and share information. | http://www.pearltrees.com/ | |
| Photobucket | Photos and videos in copyright-friendly environment. | http://beta.photobucket.com/ | |
| Pics4Learning | A safe, free image library for education. Teachers and students can use the copyright-friendly photos and images for classrooms, multimedia projects, web sites, videos, portfolios, or any other project in an educational setting. | http://www.pics4learning.com/ | |
| Polldaddy | Create surveys, polls, quizzes and collect the responses. | http://polldaddy.com/ | |
| QR codes | Provide easy access to information resources, pathfinders, websites and other tools that support your students’ learning and classroom programs. | http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ | |
| ScoopIt | Content curation that brings together a collection of website, articles, blogs, videos that are useful when exploring a topic. | http://www.scoop.it/ | |
| sitehoover | A place where you can store all your favourite web sites. | http://www.sitehoover.com/en/ | |
| Spiderscribe | Online mind mapping and brainstorming tool that lets you organise your ideas by connecting notes, files, etc. | http://www.spiderscribe.net/ | |
| Survey Monkey | Design your surveys, collect the responses and analyse the results. | http://www.surveymonkey.com/ | |
| Padlet (Wallwisher) | Build a wall and then post your note taking, sort and organise. | http://padlet.com/ | |
| ————— | |||
| Create / ShareOrganising / Presenting | Animoto | Create simple video slide shows – add pictures, text, select music and create. | http://animoto.com/ |
| Audacity | Audio recording and editing program that lets you mix, record and edit sounds. | http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ | |
| AudioBoo | Allows you to record and share audio. | http://audioboo.fm/ | |
| Blabberize | Take a picture and make it talk! Tell a story, share an idea, read a poem…. | http://blabberize.com/ | |
| Blogger | A Google tool for creating blogs. | http://www.blogger.com | |
| Bookbuilder | Use this site to create, share, publish, and read digital books that engage and support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests, and skills. | http://bookbuilder.cast.org/ | |
| Canva | Easy drop-and-drag infographic creator. Also, Canva has other simple, drag-and-drop, graphic design features well worth exploring. | https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/ | |
| easel.ly | Create and share visual ideas online – infographic tool. | http://www.easel.ly/ | |
| Easy Sketch Pro Schools edition | Create whiteboard animations and cartoon videos. | Easy Sketch Pro | |
| Create your personal magazine and share stories, videos and photos. | https://flipboard.com/ | ||
| Glogster | Create interactive posters – online multimedia posters with text, photos, videos, graphics, sound,drawings and more. | http://edu.glogster.com/ | |
| GoAnimate for Schools | Make animated videos in the classroom. Powerful tools – drops and drag. | https://goanimate4schools.com/public_index | |
| Haiku Deck | Presentation software for iPad and Web. | https://www.haikudeck.com/ | |
| infogr.am | Create interactive charts and infographics | http://www.infogr.am/ | |
| Issuu | Digital publishing platform. | http://issuu.com/ | |
| Jing | Create images and videos of what you see on your computer screen and then share. | http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html | |
| Learnist | Share by curating the web. You can use videos, blogs, books, docs, images or anything on the web to explain anything. | http://learni.st/ | |
| Livebinders | Collect your resources, organise them and present them. | http://www.livebinders.com/ | |
| morgueFile | Photographs freely contributed by many artists to be used in creative projects. To acknowledge the artist’s accomplishments, please credit the photographer. | http://www.morguefile.com/archive | |
| Ocenaudio | A cross-platform, easy to use, fast and functional audio editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyze audio files without complications. | http://www.ocenaudio.com.br/ | |
| PB Works | Previously PBwiki – wiki platform. | http://www.pbworks.com/ | |
| Photo Peach | Create an audio slideshow. | http://photopeach.com/ | |
| Piktochart | Create engaging presentations from data and information – infographic tool | http://piktochart.com/ | |
| Pixton | Pixton introduces the world to Click-n-Drag Comics™, a revolutionary new patented technology that gives anyone the power to create amazing comics on the web. Browse the subject area examples to see the potential. | http://www.pixton.com/schools/overview | |
| Podbean | Podcast hosting. | http://www.podbean.com/ | |
| PosterMaker App | Design posters, flyers, and signs using your iPhone or iPad! No complicated, expensive desktop publishing software required — with just a few taps, you can create beautiful, ready-to-print PDFs. | https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id423574589?mt=8 | |
| PresentationTube | A desktop application & online platform for recording & sharing video presentations. Add narration to your PowerPoint presentations. | http://presentationtube.com/ | |
| Prezi | A dynamic presentation tool that helps you organise, present and share your ideas – zoom out for the overview and zoom in for the detail. | http://prezi.com/ | |
| Scribe | Store documents – doc, ppt, pdf, xls, etc. and share them with others. | http://www.scribd.com/ | |
| Smilebox Teacher’s Toolbox | The Smilebox Teacher’s Toolbox program is a teacher’s digital companion for creative classroom communication. Teacher’s Toolbox gives teachers at all grade levels an easy and creative way to safely share photos, videos, and classroom updates to students and parents. | http://media.smilebox.com/teachers/welcome | |
| Smore for educators | Creat flyers, posters and newsletters. | https://www.smore.com/educators | |
| Stormboard | Stormboard is an online brainstorming and collaboration platform. The name comes from a combination of brainstorm and whiteboard. Add ideas, photos and videos to a shared online whiteboard. | http://stormboard.com/ | |
| Storyboard generator | A creative studio space to explore storytelling and the moving image. Students can explore the moving image and create their own digital stories to share with others. | http://generator.acmi.net.au/storyboard | |
| Tagul | Tagul is a web service that enables you to create gorgeous tag clouds and embed them on your web page.Includes different shapes to match your words. | http://tagul.com/ | |
| Twiddla | Twiddla is a real-time online collaboration tool. Its beauty is in its simplicity and accessibility: no plug-ins or downloads, no need to work around complex firewalls, no advanced scheduling. It’s available 24-7 and the only requirement is a computer with an internet connection and a web browser. | http://www.twiddla.com/ | |
| Vimeo | Share your videos. | http://vimeo.com/ | |
| Voki | A talking voice character, either computer-generated or your own voice. [Also has a lesson plan database.] | http://www.voki.com/ | |
| Weebly for education | An easy way to create a website. | http://education.weebly.com/ | |
| Wikispaces | A space where you can share work and ideas, pictures and links, videos and media. Can save building a web site. | http://www.wikispaces.com/ | |
| Wordle | Create word visuals using the text you enter – suggested as a form of infographic. | http://www.wordle.net/ | |
| WordPress | Blogging platform | https://wordpress.com/ | |
| xtranormal | Animated, narrated movie maker | http://www.xtranormal.com/ | |
| ————— | |||
| EvaluateAssessing | Edmodo | Secure social network for classroom and teacher use. Collaborate and share content and ideas. | http://www.edmodo.com/ |
| iRubric | A comprehensive rubric development, assessment and sharing tool. Monitor student learning outcomes. | http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm | |
| Kaizena | Add voice comments, text comments and resource links to student work. Syncs with Google Drive. | https://kaizena.com/ | |
| Penzu classroom | A classroom journal that you can share with your students. | http://penzu.com/content/products/classroom | |
| Socrative | Smart student response system that allows the teacher to interact with the students – quizzes, games, exercises. Good for post-assessment, reflection and check for understanding. | http://socrative.com/ | |
| Stoodle | Free online collaborative whiteboard. | http://stoodle.ck12.org/ | |
| VoiceThread | A collaborative, multimedia slideshow that hosts images, videos and documents and allows others to leave comments (voice, text, audio file or video). | http://voicethread.com/ | |
Additional resources
Great mind mapping apps for iPad
Scoop.it! — Web tools to support inquiry based learning
The best of teachers’ web tools by Med Karbach
Web-based version of Bloom’s Taxonomy (30+ digital tools)