Story: Susan Brooks-Young

“LiveBinders had just come out, and I was so excited because it was better than just a list kind of thing.”

When her growing list of links began to overwhelm the very educators they were meant to support, Susan Brooks-Young knew something had to change. By discovering a more intuitive way to present digital resources, she built a scalable toolkit that could grow while remaining easy for her teachers to navigate.

About Susan Brooks-Young

Susan is an accomplished educator, former administrator, and technology integration specialist. With decades of experience across K–8 classrooms and global workshops, she focuses on promoting ethical, thoughtful technology use. Susan is also the author of numerous books, including The Media Savvy Middle School Classroom: Strategies for Teaching Against Disinformation.

At a Glance: Key Outcomes

• Transformed overwhelming lists into organized digital binders — What began as a long list of disconnected resource URLs became a layered, easy-to-use toolkit for educators.
• A single, organized resource hub helped Susan scale her impact— From local trainings to national audiences, her digital binder supported her growth as a trainer and presenter.
• Improved retention and usability through intuitive design— Clear navigation and structured layers made it easier for users to engage with and apply what they learned.

The Challenge: Too Many Links, Not Enough Clarity

Educators are under pressure to prepare students for a digital landscape where misinformation spreads easily and truth is increasingly contested. Traditional cues—like newsprint or source reputation—no longer apply in a world where all online content looks equally polished. Without intervention, both students and adults fall into echo chambers and unknowingly spread misinformation.  

Susan saw a need for training educators about the traps of misinformation. She often built online agendas and resource lists for her sessions, but over time, those lists grew long and hard to navigate.  She struggled to provide participants with something they could easily return to and use effectively.

“When I’m working with teachers I really want to be sure they have reference points they can go back to. And when I do workshops, I organize online agendas. And the lists of resources were just getting too long.”

The Solution: Replacing Static Lists with Layered, Interactive Binders

What began as a long, overwhelming list of URLs evolved into a collaborative, multi-tabbed digital binder backed by Susan’s book and real-world classroom use.

“LiveBinders had just come out, and I was so excited because it was better than just a list kind of thing. When I found it, I thought—whoa, this is awesome!— Now I can have the best of both worlds.”

Susan began building her digital binder to meet the immediate needs of teachers—and to replace the long, overwhelming lists with a more intuitive and layered resource. By layering content and offering clear navigation, Susan’s binders didn’t just store information—they made it stick.

Impact: Making Information Memorable Through Smarter Organization

LiveBinders proved essential in delivering Susan’s message in a format that matched the complexity and adaptability required for digital literacy education. Unlike static documents or outdated list-based tools, LiveBinders allowed her to organize evolving content, embed multimedia, and link resources into a single, intuitive experience.

“I discovered very early on that one of the things I love about LiveBinders is the fact that I can create one on the fly if I need to.”

This flexibility means Susan’s binders are not only accessible during trainings but continue to serve as dynamic reference points long after sessions end. By layering information and offering clear navigation, LiveBinders helps ensure that the knowledge shared is easy to access, retain, and apply.

Why LiveBinders: Bringing Clarity and Scalability to Complex Resources

LiveBinders provided Susan with a platform designed to solve her core challenges—transforming unwieldy, static lists into an organized, interactive resource that scales from small trainings to national reach.

• Uniform Structure: Layered tabs and visual organization make complex information easy to navigate for all learners.
• Adaptable and Dynamic: Susan can update content live during trainings, ensuring resources stay current and relevant.
• Centralized Navigation: Easy-to-explore design helps users dig deeper without feeling overwhelmed.

Figure 1. Susan’s digital binder, showing her use of color-coded tabs and visual elements to organize information.

The Bottom Line: LiveBinders Transformed a Resource Overload into a Scalable  Solution

What began as an overwhelming list of links became a dynamic, shareable toolkit that educators across the country now rely on. With LiveBinders, Susan turned a resource-sharing challenge into an organized, evolving platform that supports real classroom needs. Her Building Block of Digital Citizenship binder is just one example of how meaningful structure and layered design can help educators access training material more effectively.

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