glogster.

what is glogster?

glogster's slogan is poster yourself & poster yourself is exactly what glogster allows students to do. through glogster, you can construct interactive posters on the topic of your choice.  posters can contain written content, audio, video, & link to outside resources. the formatting & style of glogster posters, or glogs, are determined by a series of available images, text boxes, frames, & backgrounds. you are also able to upload your own photo, audio, & video content. glogster is also extremely easy to use. students will have its simple interface mastered within 15 minutes of use & soon show you new features of this full-featured web 2.0 tool. with customization, the ability to link to outside resources, & upload homemade content, glogster allows students to create a very rich, deep, product.

suggestions.

the one negative i find with glogster is that it is part social-networking along with being part great classroom resource. we all know how dangerous & unproductive unrestrained & unsupervised social networking can be in the classroom. when saving a glog, students are given the option to save as public or private. i always recommend saving as private. public glogs can be found through glogster's search tool, private blogs can only be seen by those that have the glog's specific url. i also recommend using one log in for an entire class. this allows the teacher to view all student content at once. as long as student save their glogs as private, & all use one log in, the social-networking features of glogster become useless.

example.

i took some time to create a glog of my own (click on the image above to see the entire glog). note the integration of text, photos, audio, & video. total time spent on this glog was less than one hour.  you can see how easy & quick it is to create your own interactive poster. glogster is a great resource for the classroom. put the poster board, washable markers, & mess away.  make a glog in your classroom.

final verdict.

i've already discussed my concern with glogster's social networking functions, so i'll refer you back to paragraph two. i also am disappointed with the number of styles & themes available for your glog. there is a dearth of general shapes & colors whereas i see little use for an emo or christmas theme in my classroom. i understand that glogster began as a social networking tool & is now beginning to realize its power as an education tool. i anticipate glogster to make improvements in the near future to make it an even better classroom resource. i use glogster in the classroom. i recommend it to teachers. i have hope that it will transform into an excellent tool for schools, but it currently falls a little short of expectation.