Glogster: A new twist on the poster

My first grader had his first poster assignment this weekend. The class is studying famous Black Americans (I still wonder about this; shouldn't we study these people year round?). I know the teacher is following the school curriculum and I know this happens in schools around the country so I suppose people with more knowledge than me feel it is the right thing to do.

Danny was assigned to research Willie Mays but unfortunately the books we found were at a pretty high reading level. Thus, we went to the Internet. We found some interesting images, videos and statistics. Then, we created a Glog using Glogster. The Glogster slogan is "Poster Yourself" and a Glog is essentially an online multimedia poster. You can embed images, videos, sounds, links and text. I am honestly not sure what Glog stands for; possibly "Glamour Log."

It is very easy to use and even has an EDU section where teachers can set up private accounts for each of their students. I think primary teachers may have difficulties managing a whole-class Glog project without extra hands, however, I think most Moms could easily support their children as they complete poster assignments. I seem to remember poster assignments throughout my K-12 education and I remember they got more boring the older I got. Glogster may be the answer. Youngsters can learn some computer skills, gain 21st century skills including creativity and digital ethics and possibly really enjoy an age-old school assignment.

You can see Danny's glog on Willie Mays. But, more importantly check out Glogster. It may just save you some headaches the next time your child brings home that poster assignment. Or, maybe you can save yourself some headaches on a rainy or snowy day.