(This post is part of our Case Study series, in which educators share how they have incorporated instaGrok into a school setting. Here Shawn Jacob takes us step by step how he uses new hardware (like the iPad) and software (like instaGrok) in his classroom, and how it helps his students explore concepts that are too complicated to be resolved by a simple search engine query.

Here’s a project that I have my English 10 students do, using their iPads to consume, to think critically, to communicate, to collaborate, and to create. And instaGrok plays a major role in this process.

While reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, students are introduced through a Prezi to ten themes connected to the novel.

Then they select one theme statement, brainstorm, and use instaGrok to research real-world topics connected to that theme. Finally, they create a multi-genre portfolio consisting of genre writings and repetends (a repeating motif that carries the theme through the pages of their project), as well as a creative presentation and visual aide based on their final portfolio.

Then, not only do my students develop the necessary critical thinking skills by using the instaGrok classroom edition, but they also discover that effective research takes time. They explore sites that discuss their themes and topics, and some even use social networking apps to post surveys and to send interview questions. Additionally, they make great use of their iPads and instant access to the internet to familiarize themselves with the genres in which they chose to synthesize their new, research-based understanding. Along the way, I am able to monitor students’ progress through the instaGrok teacher dashboard by reviewing their instaGrok Journals. Then I offer suggestions for additional search terms and phrases, as well as ways to improve their note taking in their Journal.

Throughout their journey, students use their iPad camera to capture images that they can combine with their original writings to create recurring motifs/repetends; Apple’s Pages app is used for penning many of the writings, including MLA format Works Consulted pages; the iPad app, Paper by 53, which may be accessed here, helps with brainstorming a visual aide, functioning as a metaphor to use in a public presentation of their final product; and the iPad’s camera is even used to film rehearsals of their presentations. I have them use good ol’ pen and paper to meticulously peer review each other’s multiple drafts; I believe in maintaining a balance between the digital and analog worlds for my students.

The process is intense, but their end-products, and the ability to engage in meaningful, project-based learning that challenges them to be creative problem solvers is incredibly rewarding. Download iTunes U, then follow this link to subscribe to my iTunes U course. Tap on the Materials tab to download a PDF of the multi-genre project; the document title is “TFA Multi-Genre Project.”

Below is a video that Zeeland Public Schools put together about Mr. Jacob’s students and this project:

Shawn Jacob earned his bachelor’s degree from Hope College. After a decade on the road working as a motivational speaker and comedy magician, he added a master’s from Aquinas College. He’s in his ninth year of teaching, which has entailed everything from British Literature and World Literature to Creative Writing and Journalism, as well as the dreaded Yearbook—for which his staff has earned more than 20 national awards over a 4-year period. He’s the technology coach at Zeeland East High School in Zeeland, Michigan. He has presented on 1:1 technology at the past two MACUL conferences in Michigan.

(This is the second post in our Case Study series, in which educators share how they have incorporated instaGrok into a school setting. Here Ron Peck discusses how instaGrok can help engage students. You may have already seen this post on TeacherCast or Ron’s blog, but we liked it enough that we asked to republish it here.)

A funny thing happened on my way to Edmodo one day. Edmodo recently added apps to their learning management system which gives it another dimension for student/teacher interaction. As I was looking through the apps one day I noticed one called instaGrok. It sounded familiar but yet not and thus piqued my interest enough to check into it further. What I found and what my students discovered was an all in one research and writing tool that was perfect for meeting Common Core State Standards.

instaGrok can be a standalone research and writing tool or you can purchase it through the Edmodo app store and have the added feature of submitting assignments directly from instaGrok to Edmodo. So, how can instaGrok help you and your students? Well, vocabulary building is the first great feature. As students enter a topic of word a web of connected concepts is displayed. Students can then click on any concept to get additional connections and vocabulary. Definitely an excellent tool for getting students to understand academic language.

In addition to the vocabulary features there are other useful tools like the reading level tool at the top center of the site as well as the journal and results sections. Students can toggle to their journal page and add research summaries, images, videos and glossary words to their journal by clicking on the little push pins next to each key fact or image.
The assignment I gave my students was to use instaGrok for all of their research and then write a paper in the journal feature of instaGrok. I had my students add all of their research and images at the end of their paper and required them to incorporate it into their assignment.

Students can then write their paper or start another search with another term and add multiple pages of research and vocabulary while maintaining one with the writing assignment. The ability to connect all of these features sets instaGrok apart from other search engines. In fact, instaGrok is not just a search engine but a tech tool designed to meet the needs of students and teachers.

Common Core State Standards call for the use of technology and instaGrok is a convenient tool that engages students and gives them the means to expand their learning. Whether you use the free version or invest in all the features with the paid app on Edmodo or standalone, instaGrok is sure to excite student learning.

Below are some examples of what my students produced from a couple of projects they did this year:

The top image shows all of the groks a student did for a project. A journal with all of the pins is represented in the second image and the third image is the final essay by one of my students.

My students came up with an appropriate saying. Grok is good!

Ron Peck is an AP US & AP World History Teacher and technology integrator; an Edutopia SS Group Facilitator; the Co-Creator of #sschat, #wrldchat & @EdcampSS; Co-President of the NCSS Technology Committee/Community; and a consultant for the Bureau of Education and Research.

(Some teachers who check out instaGrok have told us, “That’s pretty nifty, but I want some real-world examples of how it’s used in the classroom.” That seemed like a pretty valid request, and we realized that the most compelling use cases would come from fellow educators. So today we’re kicking off a new series in our blog; we call it …[drumroll]… Case Studies. In these guest posts, teachers share how they have incorporated instaGrok into a school setting. Our first post is by Kevin Hodgson, but on Twitter you might know him as Dogtrax.)

I won’t say that instaGrok solved all of difficulties of teaching research methods to my sixth graders. But instaGrok sure has gone a long way to helping me as a teacher to frame the ways students can go about determining a topic of interest, conduct initial web-based research, and then use what they have found in writing. Like many teachers working under the umbrella of the Common Core expectations, with its emphasis on research and distillation of ideas in writing, I’ve been working harder than ever on how to make the “research paper” more engaging and a better learning experience for my students.

One of the problems that many students face with web-based reading skills is that of keeping “focus” on the task at hand. I think we’ve all experienced the ways in which people read when they are navigating information in online spaces. Readers jump from topic to topic, hyperlink to hyperlink, intrigued in the moment by a flashy video or image that takes them five steps away from the original entry point. Adults are susceptible to this, but not nearly as much as kids. Watching young people read online can be akin to watching someone fly-fish: the activity is all along the surface and often very sporadic. In fact, some of the emerging research around eye movements when a person is reading a webpage is fascinating, if a little alarming. When reading online, the eye does not track information in a traditional left-right, down, left-right movement that we associate with books and other traditional texts; Instead, when reading online, our eyes move in what is known as an F Pattern, moving across the page in a search for key words and phrases, and then heading down (instead of across). There’s a lot of jumping around as the mind searches for what it seeks.

Add in to this experience the active adolescent mind, and what you have is a rather unfocused reading strategy that does not translate well to a research endeavor, which requires close reading skills (another key Common Core element). As a result, it can be painful to watch a student launch into a research project by using Google or Bing, where the range of options is too plentiful to imagine. The deluge of results is more than my sixth graders can handle.

Which brings me to instaGrok. What initially interested me with instaGrok was how it contained search queries through its portal system, allowing students to have a common launching space for which to search. The site brings information to the student-researcher, and with the function of notebooks for “pinning” ideas for later, instaGrok is an effective tool for focusing the inquiry work of students. What always intrigues students first, though, is the visual element to the searching (or grokking) – the use of the conceptual map that shows other connections to an initial search fascinates my students, and allows them a way to explore offshoot ideas. Those branches of connected ideas pull in students as learners, although the issue of refocusing often comes back into play, too.

Using instaGrok with my sixth graders has certainly allowed me a chance to really teach them about online research techniques such as narrowing search terminology, identifying and analyzing the credibility of information, the role that media such as videos and images plays in helping understand a complex issue, citing sources, and much more. I also appreciate that the teacher account allows me to literally see the kinds of searches that students are conducting on a day-to-day basis.

This year, we began a research project early in the school year, introducing them to instaGrok in the first month, showing them some basics around research and writing. Student had to choose a topic related to the political scene, which connected to the election cycle of the United States. The idea was to give them access to the site early in the year, so that when my colleagues in Science and Social Studies assigned papers, our students would not only have a place to turn but also have the basics of research skills down. This has been an effective strategy, and one that my colleagues have appreciated.

Later this year, I will have them do a larger research paper, too, on an environmental theme of choice, connecting research to argumentative writing (yet another Common Core skill). instaGrok will once again be the launching pad of choice for my students as they learn and use key skills of the 21st Century: how to gather information from multiple sources and use what they have discovered in a meaningful way.

Five Tips for Using instaGrok:

• Give students time to play with the site before they get down to work
• Have them start out a research endeavor with a broader search on a topic of interest, then narrow down the focus based on suggestions in the concept map interface
• Reflect on how the multimedia aspects (video, images) complement the traditional search (webpages, text)
• Show them the teacher view of the site – knowing that queries can be observed by the teacher often keeps the student focused on task
• Use the “share” option to showcase exemplar student searches with the rest of the class.

Kevin Hodgson teaches sixth grade at the William E. Norris Elementary School in Southampton, Massachusetts, and is the technology liaison with the Western Massachusetts Writing Project.