Web 2.0 Tool

What is Glogster?

Glogster is a phenomenal Web 2.0 tool that invites students to obtain a creative license in the art of making an online poster. Students are able to showcase their knowledge of a particular subject through the use of photographs, images, text, audio, video, and hyperlinks (Santillo, 2009). This free, web-based tools enables scholars to think about research, content knowledge, and their education in an entirely new light.

To begin using Glogster, teachers sign up for an account. In doing so, educators can create student accounts, as well. Nicknames and passwords are generated for each individual student to use, giving them a sense of ownership over their glog. Once students are set up they can begin their “glogging experience.”

Most on-line tutorials, such as “Glog-On” (2008) suggest users become quickly familiar with the magnetic tool box located on the left side of the screen. This box allows the creator to add and change graphics, text, images, video, sound, and backgrounds. Selecting the “Wall” option first enables users to scan through 26 pages of wallpaper to choose from; or they can upload their own picture to use as their background.

The next task to accomplish is adding in text boxes, where you can share information, ideas, or thoughts. These too come in a plethora of shapes, sizes, and colors, leaving the options endless. Once students create a text box, they can alter the font’s size, shape, and color, add a hyperlink, and change the effects of the text box on the page. Then it is time to add a title in order label the text box. Title boxes work the same way that text boxes do, allowing the user to change a myriad of options. When these are complete, students can begin to add other enhancers to their glog.

Videos, audio, and images can be accessed next using the magnetic tool box. These multi-media technologies can be uploaded from either the student’s personal collection or from the internet. Each of these features have the opportunity to go into a text box of their own, creating even more flare to the glog at hand.

When students finish adding all of their components to their glog and finalize their look, they can save and publish. Publishing allows students to share their glog with fellow members of the glogging community. Despite the fact students “save and publish,” they always have the opportunity to edit their work at any time; affording students the opportunity to continuously add to their poster showcase of knowledge.

If you are looking for a quick tutorial about using Glogster "Glogster in 90 seconds" is the video to watch.

More in depth instructions can be found Traci Blazosky's Glogster tutorial page.

Strengths of Glogster

First of the many:

In today’s world, the tentacles of technology are far reaching. These new technologies that are popping up daily are creating “new literacies,” which are requiring users to utilize their traditional reading and writing skills in a much different way. Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack (2004) state that the most essential new literacies schools need to focus on should revolve around the Internet, letting students immerse themselves into its intricate network. The researchers feel “these new literacies allow us to use the Internet and other ICTs to identify important questions, locate information, critically evaluate the usefulness of that information, synthesize information to answer those questions, and then communicate the answers to others (Leu et. al, 2004).” Glogster is the perfect example of students using the internet to research, locate information, comprehend its meaning, and then share their findings with the world around them through various multi-media mediums.

Located just beyond this hyperlink, is a Glog that I created about the media collage, demonstrating the ability to add audio, text, and graphics to this poster creator. As the digital world expands, some believe we have lost our ability to stay focused on an extensive amount of text at one time (Carr, 2008). Therefore, I added three audio links explaining three different concepts I had learned while reading the article, “Orchestrating the Media Collage.” Having the viewer listen instead of read enables one to use their auditory skills to actively listen, rather than force their visual skills to stay focused on a long passage of text. Furthermore, at the very bottom of the Glog, I was able to link a song to my poster, which to me, contained powerful lyrics that related to the topic of the media collage. Having the ability to add this feature could allow a student to exhibit their aptitude in thinking deeply about the content at hand by reaching outside the box in order to make a connection with the world around them.

My text boxes display my traditional literacy ability to write and communicate clearly to an audience. This aspect would help any teacher to see their students writing in terms or word choice, organization, rules/conventions, development, and sentence formation. The graphics included on my Glog coincide with the theme of both my research and Glog. Adding simple graphics could show how much a student is understanding the researched topics along with how deep they are evaluating the information that they are finding. If a graphic is completely off topic, perhaps they are researching in the wrong spots or have missed the general meaning of the topic at hand.

This glog, created by a student about Earth Day, displays how videos can be used to enhance the learning experience. This learner attached two videos that provide a deeper understanding about the Earth and Earth Day in general. A teacher assessing this project would be able to watch the videos to see if they related to the topic being discussed. They also would be able to tell whether or not they found reputable sources to share with their class. Moreover, having videos attached to a project is a sure-fire way to engage students come presentation time.

Second of the many:

Another incredible strength of Glogster is its ability to reach out to a variety of learners. Around the early 1980s, Howard Gardner developed the idea of Multiple Intelligences, showing the world that we all access information in different ways. Gardner believed that there were seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and musical (Helding, 2009). Each of these proposed intelligences are met on some level or another when a student uses Glogster. Students who are linguistic tend to focus on words; therefore they might enjoy adding text to the text boxes or scouring through pages of research to find the perfect facts. Logical-mathematical learners may be met more out on the web when they are searching for ways to trim back song and video minutes. The spatial learner is in his heaven, surrounding himself with graphics and visuals galore. The kinesthetic learner is able to maneuver about the web and move their poster designs around, instead of staring at a simple word document screen where very little mobility is available. Interpersonal learners are able to work by themselves to create their Glog, where Intrapersonal learners get a piece of the action by sharing their Glogs with others. Last but not least, the musical learner has the opportunity to add different songs and audio clips to help enhance their glogging experience. All totaled, Glogster allows every type of learner to touch upon their strengths at one point or another through their use of this website.

Want to know your multiple intelligences? Click here to find out!

Weaknesses of Glogster

First of the few:

One downfall of Glogster is like many web-based tools, it can be quite finicky. During my initial use of Glogster I lost my work on three separate occasions. It took me awhile to figure out that it is important to click the save or publish button often. At first I thought by pressing it, my work would be sent into cyber space permanently and no editing would be permitted. It turns out that “Save or Publish” does exactly what it states, it either saves, or publishes. However, pressing save does not always mean that your work is safe! Sometimes an error message would appear after I tried to add a text box, image, or audio bite. This would then cause the website to shut down. When I opened my Glog again, my previous work was missing. Furthermore, there were times that the magnetic tool box would not work either! I would try to add a text box or graphic and the tool box would freeze. These problems made making a Glog an extremely long process. I could easily see my students becoming frustrated and giving up, especially if their work kept disappearing!

Second of the few:

Another weakness of Glogster is the idea of access. Despite the fact that Glogster is free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection, not all students have the luxury of this technology in their home. At school, computers and the internet are readily available in most cases, however the ability to access specific websites is not. Many web pages that provide students with capability to view educational videos, download images, or listen to songs and speeches, are blocked on the school network. A variety of these sites may provide inappropriate material for students to view; however, a large majority offer resources that students may not be able to find in any online journal or encyclopedia. This idea of access could be a huge deterrent in using Glogster, as having the ability to download videos, music, and images is a huge part in making worthwhile posters.

Traditional vs. New Literacies

Readers and Writers alike need to use a multitude of both traditional and new literacy skills to successfully navigate through Glogster:

The Writer:

Writers making a Glog would need to understand the process of writing in the traditional sense. They must know the importance of word choice, organization, rules/conventions, development, and sentence structure. If they understood these traditional aspects of writing, they would at least be able to write a rough draft of ideas on a piece of paper before attempting to make their Glog. Once they begin their online poster, many of their writing skills become a mixture of old and new. They still must be able to use the process of writing effectively, but now be able to type it into text boxes on the website. Their ideas must be organized in a thoughtful way so that their Glog has some fluidity from top to bottom. The new literacy writer must also determine what information should be in text form and which should be shown via a video, photo, or audio clip. Since there is limited space on the Glog, not everything can be written text like most traditional writing projects tend to be.

The Reader:

Readers, like writers, must have a traditional background in reading. They must be able to decode, understand phonics, and identify vocabulary. The traditional readers should also be able to identify, question, connect, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate text placed before them. Beyond this, Glogster requires many new literacies to be used. Students need to be able to navigate the website, identifying what different symbols and buttons allow you to do. For example, one must be able to identify that the two linking circles represent the button to press when you want to indeed add a link to your text box. Furthermore, the reader needs to be able to upload videos, audio, and photos. If they struggle with this process, they need to understand how to search for additional resources to help them complete this task.

One final aspect of new literacy reading I would like to touch upon is an idea brought up by a fellow colleague in my graduate class. Julie Ra (2010) mentioned the idea of visual grammar when she was discussing what readers need to know when using Glogster. Visual grammar is the way that students view colors, movement, and sounds on a webpage. Learners need to be able to navigate through the flurry of colorful backgrounds available to them, along with the moving graphics that can be potentially flying all over the Glogster page. If they become distracted by these objects and designs, they can easily lose focus of the task at hand.