5.1 Presentation Tools | Glogster

The focus for this week - presentation tools. The programmes we had to choose from were Powerpoint, Prezi and Glogster. I am quite familiar with Powerpoint. For this reason, I thought it would be nice to try something new. Prezi seemed like an extension of Powerpoint. Glogster looked different. It looked like it could capture the interests of young students. I decided to look further into this interactive poster programme.

First impressions:

• Initially, the concept appealed to me. I thought that moving presentation posters into the digital realm was a great idea.
• Appearance wise, it seemed modern and fun. The application incorporates graphics that should engage a young audience.
• Adding video, audio and links is a pretty cool feature (added interactivity).
• I also really liked the idea that Glogster uses cloud based technology.  

Thoughts after making a glog:

• The biggest issue I encountered with Glogster was its speed. I found it slow when uploading images and video. I must admit, the loading time was not unbearably long. The only reason I'm concerned with this issue is that I was using a high speed broadband connection. This makes me question the performance ability on a more limited internet connection. 

Youtube video courtesy of http://tinyurl.com/cb6h4l8

Comparison with other ICTs:

I used Glogster to make a poster about my pet dog, Geordie. As I was making the poster, I kept comparing Glogster with other programmes. It seemed to me that a lot of what could be achieved in Glogster could also be achieved using other technologies. In my opinion, these other technologies are more functional. Here are the results:

Glogster vs Powerpoint

• Speed. There’s nothing wrong with using cloud based technology. I’m all for it. However, it becomes an issue when it runs slowly. Powerpoint is an equally effective presentation tool. Like Glogster, links, movies and music can be embedded into a Powerpoint presentation. The benefit of Powerpoint is that it is not reliant on an internet connection.
• Space. A lot of the example Glogs I looked at felt extremely cluttered. I wasn't sure what to look at first. With Powerpoint, information can be placed on separate pages. Within a primary context, students should be learning the process of organising and sequencing information. I feel that Powerpoint would be a better tool for this.

Glogster vs Weebly

• Interface design. I found the Weebly interface to be more intuitive, thus providing a more enjoyable user experience. Tools were easier to navigate and I picked up how to use them quickly. Essentially though, this comes down to a personal preference. 
• Functionality. Glogster and Weebly are both web based applications. For some reason, I found that Weebly ran faster than Glogster. To me, the functionality of Weebly was more sophisticated.

Glogster vs Poster, pen and paper

• Scale. A poster is larger in size than a Glog. I would prefer students to work at a larger scale in order to prevent information becoming cluttered.
• Creativity. I’m torn on this one. One of Glogster's strengths is its aesthetic appeal. There is enough control over the customisation of graphics for students to demonstrate their creativity.  At the same time, I would also like to see what kids could do on their own, with their own hands. Not everything needs to be made with a computer.

The verdict: Glogster is a nicely packaged programme. It is based on a very solid idea. At this point in time though, I can't seem to justify its use as a learning/teaching tool. In my opinion, there are other technologies that out perform this one. I would like to check back in with Glogster in a few years time. It may be running a bit more smoothly by then.