Glogster

At the bottom of this page you will see the image of my very first glogster. So what are my thoughts on glogster? benefits, disadvantages? Well here it goes,when I first logged on to the glogster website I was required to create an account. I was asked to enter a little bit of information, which I did but when I clicked on submit it went REALLY slow. I am still not sure whether it was a problem with my internet connection or just glogster being slow but it was a little frustrating. 

I quickly got over my frustration when I finally had an activated account. I got to experiment with the features glogster has to offer. My first thought was wow, this is amazing. In glogster you can select different backgrounds, frames for images, select speech bubbles for text and lots more. Glogster really provides alot of opportunity for creativity!   

I view glogster a bit like blogger, only more technical. I highly suggest to anyone who has never created a glogster to do so. You will not be disappointed. While creating my glogster I began to think of how this could be utilised in the classroom. I feel glogster would be perfect for projects and reflecting. It would be ideal for students who are reserved and do not often voice their thoughts. Even for just asking questions on a current assignment and/or curriculum area in class. This would be Similar to a forum but just more creative. The thing that really put glogster in my 'good' books is the way teachers can create an account, add their students and that is how a whole classroom can communicate and learn. The teacher has full control over the glog and is able to view all students accounts. 

What amazing 21st century learning!

Ok so now I have told you all the amazing stuff, what are the limiations? Well just like most of the multimedia software programs around, if you are not tech savy glogster may drive you a little crazy. The privacy settings may open windows for cyber bullying, inappropriate comments and misuse of the glog. Some students may be a concerned about their work going public, however I do not think this should be to much of an issue as most students are part of a social networking site but it is worth being mindful of. As glogster is an internet site, students are required to have a reliable high speed internet connection to get the full benefits out of using glogster. Technology as we know, is not always reliable so teachers would need to factor this in to their planning. 

Overall, I think glogster is great for many reasons. It is really amazing to see the technology that is out there ready for learners to engage in, glogster being one of them

This is a screenshot of my very first glogster