Insert Learning

Our discussion this week in class is about information literacy and how using online sources is a mixed bag with varying results. There was an article linked that detailed how people read online, and it said that we tend to read very little of the content we are clicking on or that we skim it. In light of that, I was looking for a resource that might help students engage more with the online content they use.

I discovered Insert Learning through Common Sense, and I believe that this is a tool that can help. The description from the website is "InsertLearning was founded by two high school teachers who wanted to create a richer learning experience for their students. Our mission is to help teachers turn the Internet into an interactive learning experience" (www.InsertLearning.com). 

Insert Learning is a Chrome Extension that teachers can use to create lessons using reliable online sources. It allows the teacher to add all kinds of things to the content that the students can interact with. They mention on the website that this can be a way to differentiate learning for students with things such as videos to support text, links to other sources, or asking the students targeted questions. I especially liked that students can add to the discussion, making it possible for kids to work together and collaborate virtually.

I feel that this tool would be especially useful in middle school classrooms of all content areas and in the library. I can see myself using this with kids when teaching about Media Literacy, finding good sources for research, finding the different parts of sources for citations, and checking for understanding as a lesson progresses. I would recommend this to any teacher who wants to use online sources in their classroom but isn't sure how much the students are interacting with the material.

While individual accounts are free, you are restricted to 5 lessons. A teacher can purchase an account for $40 per year and get unlimited lessons and unlimited number of students. They also have quotes for schools looking to purchase use. I feel that this is a good deal for a tool I would use multiple times throughout the year. As a librarian, sometimes it can be difficult to use things that are made only for classroom teachers as I see many more students. I would pay the $40 to have access to this tool for all my classes, and I would highly recommend other educators to take a look at what it was to offer.


InsertLearning. (n.d.). Retrieved July 7, 2019, from https://insertlearning.com/ 

Manjoo, F. (2013, June 06). You Won't Finish This Article. Retrieved July 5, 2019, from https://slate.com/technology/2013/06/how-people-read-online-why-you-wont-finish-this-article.html