Sunday, September 21, 2025

Review of Wakelet: Curation and Communication EdTech Tool

 

Component Review

Wakelet, part of Reviven Limited, is a content curation and collaboration tool that educators can use to organize, share, and present resources in an engaging and student-friendly way. It can be accessed by searching for www.wakelet.com. Teachers and students can collect articles, images, pdfs, and even their own notes into collections. This cuts down on the need for sharing of multiple links in a clunky fashion. Students can add their own learning, research, reflections, and projects as a powerful classroom collaborative tool. This tool is appropriate for students in fifth grade and above with proper lessons in safely researching online.

Wakelet will be part of the background knowledge building portion of the lesson. This will occur directly after the anticipatory lesson. A curated collection of articles and images will be shared with students. Students will use the background questions and find the answer to those questions within the curated collection. The answers to their questions will be shared with their group.

While assessing Wakelet against Triple E Measurement Tool, the results were as follows:
                              Engagement          100% (6 out of 6)

                               Enhancement       100%   (5 out of 6)

                               Extending             66%     (4 out of 6)

                               TOTAL                 83%    (15 out of 18)

     My lesson summary supports the engagement score because the curated articles and images in Wakelet will allow students to focus without distraction, the graphics and engaging quality will motivate them to continue to research to find answers, and the answers to their questions will then be shared with their group. For enhancement, Wakelet will allow students to find the answers to their questions and demonstrate that learning to their group. The way I have laid out the collection in Wakelet, it allows students to scaffold the content as they research. Wakelet will then allow students to personalize their learning by researching their own topic in an individualized manner. This learning will then be demonstrated to their group. For extending the learning, this Wakelet activity will not allow students to learn outside the typical school day because the lesson calls for individual work that transitions into group work. The technology does build a bridge in learning how to research safely as is required in real-life. Wakelet will also encourage students to become aware of soft skills such as navigating a new EdTech tool.

Screencast (N. Reed screencast)

            The ISTE Standard that is supported and edified while using Wakelet is 1.3.a: students will use effective research strategies to find resources that support their learning needs, personal interests, and creative pursuits. Students will be learning how to safely conduct research online since the collection is presented by URL in the Wakelet columns. This will reinforce learning concerning appropriate research sites and articles for scholarly endeavors. It will also allow students to work at their own pacing to read and find the answer to build their background knowledge of the topic.

Reflection

            The ISTE Standards that were utilized as I created my EdTech tool review were 2.1.a and 2.1.c.  By exploring, researching, and learning about Wakelet, I actively applied new teaching practices through the technology and reflected on Wakelet’s effectiveness. I was also incorporating 2.1.c which encourages teachers to stay current on new research and how this research improves student learning.

            While creating the screencast, the ISTE Standards that were in play are 2.5.  Wakelet allows students pace and learn independently. Wakelet also allowed me to develop authentic learning activities that incorporated technology to increase positive student growth. I also enjoyed Wakelet because it allowed me to use evidence-based practices while being innovative and creative in the digital learning environment.

            The ISTE Standard that is addressed by the students in engagement with Wakelet is 1.3.  While using the curated collection to build background knowledge in Wakelet, students will develop effective research strategies, evaluate information, curate information, and explore real-world issues. For content learning, using Wakelet will allow students to gain experience with Oklahoma Academic Standards 9.6.R.1, 9.6.R.2, and 9.6.R.3.  All three of these standards are concerning students conducting academic research. The Wakelet activity I designed will allow students to find and comprehend information about a topic (9.6.R.1), to synthesize relevant information from a variety of primary and secondary sources (9.6.R.2), and evaluate the relevance, reliability and validity of the information gathered (9.6.R.3).

            The only thing I would do differently in my next screencast is to extend the instructions and directions specifically for my students with disabilities. In the past, I would create two screencasts, one for regular ed, and one for students with disabilities. For instance, depending on student need, I would slow down my speaking cadence, include annotations for more visual cues, and continue to work through an example of researching an article and creating the Google Slide for this specific population.

References

ISTE. (2020). Home | ISTE. Iste.org. https://iste.org/

Oklahoma Frameworks. (2025). Oklahoma State Department of Education (265).

https://oklahoma.gov/education/services/standards-learning/oklahoma-frameworks.html

Wakelet. (2019). Wakelet - The best way to share and collect content. Wakelet.com; Wakelet. https://wakelet.com/

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