Group 3 Tool: Glogster

Glogster, what a fun and exciting tool to use in the classroom with students. I really enjoyed creating my first ever Glog and it was so easy to do. Below is my analysis of this tool.


POSITIVES

• An easy to design space where students and teachers can import text, videos, audio and images.
• A number of templates to choose from, making it easy to begin creating.
• Can easily change templates by adding other videos, texts etc. Can move object around by clicking and dragging.
• videos, audio and images can be uploaded from any source (web, computer) and you can search youtube clips straight from the Glogster page without having to open a separate page to search youtube.
• Great alternative to linear presentations like Power Point.
• Online scrap book for student work or a fun and interactive way to introduce a new topic to students.
• provides information and knowledge to student in multiple means on the one page creating greater learning outcomes for the diverse learners in the class. 
• glogster is user friendly and can be used by any year level with ease.
• can be shared by embedding into blogs (like I have done here), websites, wikis or linked onto these pages.

MINUSES

• creating a Glog can be time consuming for students especially if they are not very familiar with this technology or do not have access to the internet or computer at home.
• can be costly for teachers who wish to purchase the Glogster Edu Premium version.
• Teachers need to make time to closely supervise and review student work online to make sure the content reflects their own work, is not harmful or abusive in anyway to others and students need to know what sources of information are reliable on the net.

INTERESTING

• Teachers can create private virtual classroom by registering for a teacher account which allows them to generate students accounts with their login and password details. (Jarc, 2010).
• Teachers are able to monitor students work throughout the learning process, creating a safe learning environment for students.
• The educational version of Glogster offers teachers the added security of supervision of student work (Jarc, 2010).
• Glogs can be used in any curriculum area such as history, literacy, science and even maths. 
• It can be used as an assessment tool, where students can create class projects on the web rather then on cardboard.

Glogster are really a great tool to use in the classroom and having looked at example of glogs on the web I can see my self using it. As can be seen in my analysis above, Glogsters are easy to use so students would not have great difficulty in learning this tool and apply it. The Glog I created was based on a lesson from Sound Waves exploring the letter 'g' and 'gg'. I had my first prac today and during my observations I noticed that the teacher introduced the topic to the class using the whiteboard and verbally explaining the sounds the letter 'g' makes. In this scenario I could envision the use of a Glog like the one I created above. I think it would be a great way to introduce students to a new topic using videos, audio and images on the one page. It could further be used to display student work in literacy where students take a picture of their posters, story or poem etc and also record a podcast or Voki telling the story or reading the poem or describing their work telling us what they did. These two files can then be imported into the class literacy Glog for everyone to see, including parents and grandparents.

I believe Glogster Edu is a great tool that can be used in all year levels and across the curriculum. Of course like with any other digital, web-based tool students will need to be taught the safe and ethical practices of digital communications. Students need to be aware of copyright laws, and ensure they are referencing their work. The ACARA (2013) websites states that students need to 'acknowledge when they use digital products created by someone else, and start to indicate the source', typically by the end of year 4. The teacher will need permission from parents if they choose to use student images, videos and audio recordings in their Glogster. The teacher will also be responsible for monitoring student work on Glogster to ensure they are adhering to the safe practice guidelines. The added benefit of Glogster as mentioned above is that the educational version does have the added security feature for teachers to use.  It can be used as a private or public resource with only the classroom and families viewing it.

Any digital tool that is used online whether it be a podcast, image or video, wiki or blog there is always going to be privacy, safety and ethical issues that teachers need to be aware of and take the necessary steps to ensure the students are aware of these and to monitor the safe use of these technologies.

References:

ACARA v4.2. (2013). Information Communication Technology (ICT) Capability -Learning Continuum. Retrieved from: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Information-and-Communication-Technology-capability/Continuum#page=2

Jarc, J. (2010). Trending Educational Technology: Glogster and Glogster.edu as an alternative to PowerPoint. Retrieved from : http://trendingeducation.com/?p=271

Glogginoggins, (2013). Pro's & Con's of Glogster: The Con's. Retrieved From:

https://sites.google.com/site/glogginnoggins/pros-and-cons-of-glogster/pros-cons-of-glogster-part-2

Glogster Edu. (2013). www.edu.glogster.com. Accessed 09/04/2013.