Welcome to an exploration of Sutori, a versatile tool that has been making waves in the educational technology space. Originally launched in 2013 as “History,” Sutori was born from a creative idea to transform Twitter threads into educational timelines. This tool has evolved significantly, offering a simple yet powerful platform for creating interactive timelines and presentations.
Sutori is designed to be user-friendly and adaptable, allowing educators and students to create visually appealing timelines that incorporate various types of content. You can add text, images, videos, and even quizzes to your timelines, making it a dynamic tool for learning and teaching. Its elegant layout is enhanced by colored boxes that highlight key information, ensuring that the content is both engaging and easy to navigate.
One of Sutori’s standout features is its seamless integration with platforms like Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. This integration facilitates real-time collaboration, enabling teachers to curate content from multiple sources and embed interactive quizzes. Students can work together on projects, with the ability to see who is editing what, while teachers can provide feedback directly within the platform.
While Sutori offers a free version, it is somewhat limited in features. The full version, priced at $99 per year, unlocks a wealth of possibilities that can greatly enhance the teaching and learning experience. Despite the cost, many educators find it to be a worthwhile investment, especially when considering its potential as a cornerstone tool in the classroom. Collaborative funding among teachers can also make it more affordable.
Sutori is particularly effective for interdisciplinary projects, such as collaborations between English and history teachers. Its social media-like interface makes it intuitive to use, allowing educators to easily curate and present content. The platform’s design encourages creativity and engagement, making it a valuable resource for both teachers and students.
Common Sense Education has given Sutori a four-star rating, recognizing its thoughtful development and potential impact on education. While some users have suggested minor design improvements, such as customizable backgrounds and headings, the overall consensus is that Sutori is a standout tool with significant educational value.
In summary, Sutori offers a unique and effective way to create interactive educational content. Its simplicity, combined with powerful features, makes it an attractive option for educators looking to enhance their teaching methods. Whether you’re working on a solo project or collaborating with colleagues, Sutori provides the tools you need to create engaging and informative presentations.
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Work with your peers to create a timeline using Sutori. Choose a historical event or a topic relevant to your field of study. Incorporate text, images, and videos to make it engaging. Use the collaboration feature to divide tasks and provide feedback to each other.
Explore how Sutori integrates with Google Classroom. Create a short presentation on a topic of your choice and share it with your class. Use the platform to gather feedback and make improvements based on your classmates’ suggestions.
Utilize Sutori’s quiz feature to design an interactive quiz related to your course material. Test your classmates’ knowledge and gather insights on which areas need more focus. Analyze the results and discuss them in a study group.
Conduct a group discussion on the educational potential of Sutori. Consider its features, ease of use, and integration capabilities. Discuss how it can be used in different disciplines and share your findings in a written report.
Research and propose collaborative funding options for accessing Sutori’s full version. Work in teams to identify potential funding sources and present a plan to your class or educational institution. Highlight the benefits of investing in this tool.
Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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Hi everyone, this is Chrissy and Tanner back again with another tool highlight. Today, Tanner’s going to take it away and tell us about a tool. Which tool is it, Tanner?
Indeed, I’m going to talk about a tool that I really like, which is simple and flexible. I tend to value tools that you can use for a whole range of purposes, and this tool really embodies that. The thing I love most about it is that it allows you to do a lot without being overly complicated in design.
So, let’s take a look at this tool, which has been around for a long time. It’s called Sutori, originally named History (with the vowels removed except for ‘y’). It was developed in 2013, back when our site Common Sense Education first launched. The genesis of it is pretty interesting; one of the founders made a Twitter thread that caught fire, discussing the Great Smog of London, and thought, “What if we could formalize tweet storms into an educational tool?” So, they built this tool, first called History, now called Sutori.
Here’s what a finished version of this tool looks like. The original idea was to create a timeline similar to a Twitter timeline, where you can scroll through a Sutori project. You can add little boxes to this timeline, which can include text, pictures, videos, and you can break it up with headings. There are colored boxes that spotlight information, creating a very elegant layout. Over time, they’ve added assessments like quizzes, including matching quizzes where you can click on answers and get feedback. This data gets saved and sent back to teachers, who receive information on engagement within the timelines or projects, as well as assessment data.
One thing to note is that it works really well with Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, offering full integration and real-time collaboration. For example, a teacher can take a lesson and turn it into a Sutori project, curating content from various sources and embedding quizzes. Students can also collaborate on projects, seeing who is editing what, and teachers can comment on their work.
This is one of those platforms that does have a cost. There is a free version, but it’s pretty limited. In my experience, you quickly run into features that you want to use that require a paid subscription, which is $99 per year. While that may seem like a hefty sum to some, I think this is one of those tools that could be worth the price because it can become a cornerstone of your teaching. There are so many possibilities, and its simplicity and elegance make it a valuable resource.
We gave it a four-star rating as a Common Sense Selection. We really like it! The only real complaint we had was some minor design tweaks. I found it frustrating that you can’t change the background color or headings; some basic style options would add personality that students and teachers would appreciate. Still, we think this is a standout tool, and we’ve been following its thoughtful development.
It seems like it would be super useful for co-curricular projects, like when an English teacher teams up with a history teacher to create something cool. If teachers figure out how to use it, it looks pretty simple in practice. Our review highlights how it feels like a social media feed, making it easy to curate content.
We didn’t run into any bugs during the process; it was totally intuitive, and they have tons of examples for inspiration.
Alright, well, it does seem pretty great if you can invest a little money. You could even pool resources with other teachers to make it more affordable.
Thank you, Tanner! If you want to see this review or any other reviews, please visit Common Sense Education. You can look at our reviews, curated lists, other videos, articles, and more.
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Thank you!
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This version removes informal language, laughter, and any unnecessary filler while maintaining the core content and structure of the original transcript.
Sutori – A digital tool used for creating interactive stories, timelines, and presentations, often utilized in educational settings to enhance learning experiences. – Sutori allows students to create engaging timelines that incorporate multimedia elements, making history lessons more interactive and memorable.
Education – The process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits, often through formal instruction. – Technology has transformed education by providing students with access to a wealth of information and interactive learning tools.
Technology – The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry, and increasingly in educational environments to enhance learning. – The integration of technology in classrooms has enabled personalized learning experiences for students of all ages.
Presentations – Tools or methods used to convey information to an audience, often enhanced by digital platforms to include multimedia elements. – Students are encouraged to use digital presentations to showcase their research projects, incorporating videos and interactive charts.
Timelines – Visual representations of a sequence of events, often used in educational contexts to help students understand historical or project-based progressions. – Creating timelines with digital tools helps students visualize historical events and their impacts over time.
Collaboration – The action of working with others to achieve a common goal, often facilitated by digital tools in educational settings to enhance group learning. – Online platforms have made collaboration among students easier, allowing them to work together on projects regardless of their physical location.
Integration – The process of combining technology with traditional educational practices to enhance the learning experience. – Successful integration of technology in the classroom requires careful planning and support from educators.
Accessibility – The quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by people with disabilities, often a critical consideration in educational technology. – Ensuring accessibility in digital learning tools is essential to provide equal educational opportunities for all students.
Creativity – The use of imagination or original ideas to create something, often encouraged in educational settings to foster innovation and problem-solving skills. – Digital tools can enhance creativity by allowing students to experiment with different media and formats in their projects.
Learning – The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or teaching, often enhanced by the use of technology in modern education. – Adaptive learning technologies tailor educational content to meet the individual needs of each student, improving learning outcomes.
