BP_Web 2.0 Tools

I found it hard to choose which tool to feature today. I teach a variety of technology classes and found a few tools that would enhance the classes well. However, I chose Creaza for its flexibility of enhancing all of my classes in some way.  Creaza has four main tools: Cartoonist, AudioEditor, Mindomo and MovieEditor. All of which are pretty self explanatory, except for the Mindomo tool which is a mind mapping tool.  Creaza allows the user to upload image, sound and video files.  As in many of the Web 2.0 tools, the free version of Creaza has limitations that subscribing to a full version of the software would allow the user more abilities such as exporting creations.

I created a cartoon of the first day of school and how important following school and classroom rules can be.  It can be seen at the following link in full view http://www.creaza.com/my_homepage/cartoonist/11067868 or you can just view the screenshots below.

I'm sure you would have access to far more character, background and prop choices in the subscribed software as well. My classes were abandoned to the Library for two weeks at the end of the year during some school wide testing and we watched Avatar. The students were to create comic strips of their favorite scenes.  This would have been an interesting choice of software to see what they would have come up with.  Creaza has animals, robots and a forest background, so it would have been possible. It might have been rather primitive, however, it may have fostered a different kind of creativity.

I also created a Mindomo in Creaza of the yearbook sections we include in our yearbook. It is very easy to use as well. Mindomo is something EMDT students could use as well for our mind mapping activities.  Below is a screen shot of my creation that I will show to my Yearbook staff at the first of the year.

There are graphics that can be added as well to the Mindomo. I did notice a light bulb as well as a few other basic images.  I am sure that is another feature that improves with the subscribed version. 

Saving both projects was very simple and the same as clicking on the disk image in the upper left corner of the menu bar as in many other popular software packages used everyday. I did not have the video clips to create a video at this time, however, I am sure it would be just as simple as the other two tasks I did create. I hope you can find use for Creaza in your workplace as well.