Lots Of Media To Go Around

Earlier in the term, we had the opportunity to explore video sharing sites. It was impressive to note how easy it has become to upload and share video, as well as to tag and comment on the content. This week, when we were directed to explore "Media Sharing Sites", I was curious to see how far the features of a Web site could be taken. As a side effect of this exploring, I was very struck by how any particular Web 2.0 site takes on a character that is driven by its users.

Media sharing seems to mean different things to different people. The following sites fit the description to varying degrees:

The Slide site allows the user to create a photo/video show from other sites, such as FaceBook, MySpace or Flickr. It turns out that the site is tailored for users with a strong presence on one of the popular social networking sites. There are limited educational possibilities here.

Splash Cast Media offers a high quality media sharing tool that is flexible and has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the functionality is targeted at commercial users who want a presence on sites such as FaceBook. Prepared media can be embedded by social network users in their own pages. The service allows for some interactivity and social features. There is a lot of potential here but for now, educators don't seem to be in the radar.

Scrap Blog qualifies as a media sharing site, allowing you to use photos, video, audio and text. The major drawback is that the site really is targeting scrapbookers. The themes are very ornate. The user community is narrow. There are plenty of pages devoted to new babies and dogs that died. Still, the site is very user friendly and the technology makes everything work smoothly. Is there a service like this targeted at students and schools?

Tumblr qualifies as a media sharing site. It is able to handle video, audio, photos and text. It is surprisingly easy to use and is easy on the eyes. The style lends itself to strong visual content and light text.

Jump Cut has a lot of potential. They have given the user the ability to mix (grab) shared content (including video) with other content, creating the effect of a mashup. If there were some compelling content that was available and legal, I think that students could have powerful explorations with it. Sadly, there is no great video content to mix. What's worse, the tone of the site is very much like YouTube, with users pushing the boundaries just to try and get viewers. Will there ever be a TeacherJumpCut site?

Voice Thread is a site with a very unique structure. A user may post visual content (photos or videos) in a sequence. Audio or text comments may be added to a frame by other users. Besides the rich possibilities of adding multiple comments, there are advantages to having a less linear structure to the content than a site like Tumblr. The tone of the site is very appropriate for a school setting. The site designers are very sensitive to the needs of teachers, and have a separate (and by default private) content area just for educators.

These sites show the very boundaries of what can be done on a network. Some of them are not quite usable in a school setting because of cost or issues with content. Still, there is more than enough to stretch our imaginations as teachers in finding ways to bring some new ideas to the classroom.

posted by John Lobe @ 10:04 PM