"Digital Media Grad Class Week 5--Web 2.0 Application Review"

Well this week we had to find a Web 2.0 app that we hadn't looked at in class and write a paper examining the application. Boy-oh-boy! There are a lot of them out there. Little did I know. Well after perusing the net for a bit I settled on Capzles.

I wanted to find a site that I could really use in the classroom rather than just picking one to get the assignment done. I have the kids in my class do several different projects throughout the year (biography report, explorer report, 13 colonies report, to name a few). This application gives me the best way for them to create a visually expressive way to add value to their research. I signed up for an account and created a capzle to get a feel for the process. I love it. I hope others explore it too. Below is the opening paragraph for my paper that explains Capzles.

Capzles (http://www.capzles.com/) is a beta version of a Web 2.0 application for users to express themselves by developing personal photo stories. Conceptually it is about storylines or timelines presented in an interactive, horizontal filmstrip fashion using a Flash-based interface. It is about telling a story. These stories are called capzles: your life, a vacation, a moment in history, or whatever the story is, you can make a capzle about it. A capzle is made up of individual moments (slides) which are composed of photos, video files, blogs, and/or audio files. The capzle is a container with its own title and description and the moments (photos, video files, blogs, and/or audio files) that make up the capzle have their own description and title too.

Try it!

We also met online this week again through a site www.dimdim.com . The use of these online conferencing sites makes sense especially with transportation costs rising everyday. The hardest part of the whole thing was keeping up with the test entries. It would make sense if all participants had cams and mics so we all have a visual and audio experience but since we all don't it provides a worthy alternative. Our group started a conference and each of us took a turn creating a meeting room and all went well. Not too much to say about it right now at not until I have more familiarity with it.