What are LiveBinders?

LiveBinders are virtual three ring binders that allow us to organize our files and folders (word documents, PDF’s, audio-video clips etc) under various tabs and sub-tabs. The binders are stored online thereby granting us access at all times and from anywhere. It also has an access key using which the administrator can set the privacy settings.

Let’s explore the various uses of LiveBinders in the classroom:

For teachers:

Online lesson plan: Teachers can create the syllabi, lesson plans, topics for discussions and presentations in advance and share the information so that students will have an idea of their course structure and prepare accordingly.

Content accessibility: Binders containing content from various sources can be created for different lectures and shared. This promotes learning as students have access to the material for clarification and future referencing.

Teaching communities: Some teachers may create binders and share with other teachers. Teachers may share examples of activities that they have done, templates, presentations and other ready-to use materials related to a topic or strategy. Teachers who need new ideas for their classroom can browse such binders and find the information they need.

For students:

Resource binders: Create binders for each subject with tabs for different topics. Encourage students to research and find material related to each topic and add them to the tabs under different sub-tabs thereby creating a resource binder which serves as an assistive tool throughout the year.

Question banks: Like resource binders, students can be encouraged to create question banks with links to various answers.

Presentation binders: In classrooms where students regularly present information, LiveBinders may be used to compile and store these. Students can be instructed to attach their presentation to the binder, along with the sites from which the material was collected. By the end of the year, students will have access to this binder containing all the information presented in the class.

Report binders: Students can use LiveBinders to hand in reports. Drafts can be saved under different tabs and this can be submitted and corrected by the teacher.

Binders to facilitate group work: Creating LiveBinders as project work stimulates planning, brainstorming, collaborating and delegation of group work among students.

Creative binders: LiveBinders also provides students with a platform to display their creative sides. Students can be encouraged to post their drawings, photography, writings and videos.

Discuss here: What are some tools or strategies that you use to organize and store student work?