I like the features that Edublog has to offer, but I was disappointed that so many of the great features are on the paid versions. I think it is a flexible tool that all
age ranges can use. Younger students would benefit as a journal tool, communication tool, and gallery tool where older students can grasp more of it's collaboration
features such as responding to others and carrying on a discussion. The layout and learning how to manage posts and wiki posts does take some practice. This is
why I hesitate to start with children younger than grade 3 with this. I myself could use more time familiarizing myself with all the options as a few days just didn't seem
to be enough time to get to all the features.
This term is the first time I have spent much time working with this wiki. I used it in one other class for 1 group project and liked it. I decided at the beginning to
use it formy personal site for this course, and so this project I decided to explore it more in-depth. I really like what I have found and think it is one of the most
useful freetools I havefound to date. My only complaint is some of the insert options are not available on the free option, but the price is so reasonable that it
could easily fit into a classroom budget. With a little extra work, you can even get around some of the limitations of the free account by using a third part such
as Filckr! to provide html to embed images since you can not upload them directly with the free account. The wiki really took no time to figure out and since the
tools are just like a word processor, only simpler, I could easily see using this with elementary and above. Students can share and collaborate on the wiki with
minimal help once they have practiced a bit.
Mega Meeting has to be the most disappointing of all the tools I looked at. The price just makes it unaffordable for most school districts, but the options it has
are wonderful. I can see how it is great for the business industry with the large number of attendees, ability to see the presenter, and multiple ways to participate.
The fact that it is all browser based and does not require sever space makes it all that much more appealing. However for k-12 education, using free options
such as Skype, Voicethread, Prezi, wikis, and others you can accomplish the same things. A teacher must plan ahead and select the tool that will work best
with their goals. Mega Meeting has all the bells and whistles, but a price tag that makes it unreasonable.
The whiteboard is another tool that I want to spend more time with. It is easier than uploading many images into a Voicethread, but I do like the ability to leave comments
that Voicethread has to offer. I think this would be a great way for Show Me to expand. My older iPad easily recorded the sound, but lack the ability to take photos and
upload them. This limits some of the uploading features, but with a little more effort, you can find images or simply use a camera and put them into your iPhoto and upload
from there. Writing on the board takes some practice, and I would invest in a stylus to make my handwriting more legible.