BagTheWeb-Make the Internet Elementary Classroom Friendly
The Problem-Inappropriate Content
The internet has changed the way that information is gathered and exchanged in our society. No longer is information confined to books, libraries, protected databases, etc. It is now free and open. This change has created a rich educational environment because students have access to so much information. But, there are drawbacks to open access.
One of the most frequent concerns that I hear from elementary teachers is that they are afraid that students will be exposed to questionable content if they run Google (or other search engine) searches to find information. The teachers are not so concerned that the searches themselves will turn up questionable content but that the ads and videos embedded on sites will be inappropriate, which is a legitimate concern. So, what can a teacher do?
Personally, I fall on the side of teaching children to avoid inappropriate content. The best internet filter is the one between your ears. I don't feel that there is any way to avoid children occasionally viewing objectionable content in the digital or real world. But, I understand the issues when working with small children.
There is an easy way to allow students the chance to explore online resources while also protecting them from questionable content, and it is not by using an internet filter or relying on a district-provided filter.
The Solution-Curate Content
The solution to this issue is for the teacher to curate content on topics so that students do not have to turn to a search engine and wade through information looking for relevant pieces.
Some of you may be lucky enough to work in a district that can afford to provide a LMS where you can curate content. Many districts, however, find the cost of a fully-featured LMS to be prohibitive. While there are many free LMSs such as Edmodo, Schoology, OpenClass, Moodle, etc., the ease of use on these platforms is not always great, especially for younger students.
That is where a tool like BagTheWeb comes in.
BagTheWeb
BagTheWeb is a platform that allows you to create "bags" of digital content. Essentially, a bag is a container of content that you have curated. That content consists solely of internet links in a list. Additionally, the platform allows you to attach blurbs to the links and separate the links with dividers. Bags are also able to be nested within bags, so you can create a "Classroom" bag with bags for each lesson within it.
Once you have created a bag, BagTheWeb provides a shortened url that you can give to students. When they enter the url, they can browse the links you have curated for them.
Also, BagTheWeb has a social component. The bags that you curate can be made either private or public. Also, the bags of other users can be private or public. If a bag is made public, it is searchable within the platform. So, if you have a topic that you need curated content for, it is worth searching BagTheWeb to see if someone has already created a bag for it.
Conclusion
At the elementary level, students need scaffolding in order to find relevant information on the internet. Teachers must help students discern between good and credible information and poor information. When students progress, their skills should allow them to filter the information themselves.
Services like BagTheWeb allow a teacher to provide screened content to students while also allowing students the freedom to explore a breadth of resources. If you are concerned about the content students might uncover doing random internet searches, consider curating your own content.
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