Fixing Problems with Glogster on My Mac (Updated)

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I had some problems recently with Glogster and wanted to offer some possible solutions that we found. 

1. Spanish accents would work on some computers and not work on other computers.
2. Often times the program would not let students save their work. When they click Save & Publish, Glogster would indicate it was saving, but it would never come out of that state.
3. The program would lock up from time to time, preventing students from doing any further work.
4. Images would move around the screen without reason. Sometimes the image would chase the cursor; other times the image would move slowly across the screen when dragged to a new position; and other times a static image would move indiscriminately around the screen.

Solutions we've found:

1. Only certain fonts within Glogster accept accents. The most reliable font is Arial (Latin all), which will allow the use of accents. Several students created beautiful pieces with colorful fonts, but were later forced to change their glogs to accommodate this requirement. 

For a concise list of keyboarding accents on a Mac, here is a great resource: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codemac.html.


2. According to the folks at Glogster, the problem of "perpetual saving" is that the Flash program installed on the computer crashed. Essentially, something in the computer went wrong and you're paying the price. This problem usually results from having an old version of Flash on your computer. To avoid this problem, use Google Chrome, which doesn't use the Flash on your computer, but uses the most up-to-date version of Flash within the browser itself. 


3. Most problems seemed to be resolved by using the Google Chrome web browser. I believe this problem is linked to Flash breaking down. The best solution I found was to save the project, exit the glog I'm working on, then going back to the glog and continuing my work. 


4. I'm not sure about what causes this problem, but as with most problems, the best solution I found was to save the project, exit the glog I'm working on, then going back to the glog and continuing my work.

We were able to alleviate most problems by accessing Glogster via the Safari web browser. When working on a Mac, only Safari and Chrome allowed Glogster to work as designed. Firefox prevented students from working efficiently with Glogster. (On a PC Glogster works well with Internet Explorer.) Most websites are tested to work in a variety of web browsers, especially the most popular ones--namely Internet Explorer and Firefox, as of July 2011--but as browsers update themselves, certain programs are left to either adjust or fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, it seems Glogster has become a victim of trying to appeal to the various demands of the numerous browsers.

Hopefully you’ll find Glogster to be a great tool in your class, and hopefully these tips will help it be the best it can be!

Glog, glog, glog, glog!!!

I've found the best way to generate enthusiasm about a project with my students: personalization. What I mean is that when I allow students to create something that reflects their unique character, they seem to have much more fun as they learn. Often they don't realize that they're learning if they're having a good time!

A great tool for garnering this kind of enthusiasm is Glogster, an online poster maker. If you've never used Glogster, imagine creating a standard poster with your class. Now imagine being able to add and edit pictures quickly, add links to different websites, putting videos on your poster and doing the whole thing without the scraps of paper littering the floor and glue all over the place! You'll be amazed how your students will exhibit a surprising desire to create and stay on task when they are simply allowed to customize colors, images, and text! Check out this example below:



How to bring this into the classroom
Glogster is such a versatile tool that it's difficult to narrow down how to use it. You can literally use it in every subject with almost every grade level (though I probably wouldn't go younger than 2nd grade).

Ideas:
2nd Grade: During an animals and habitat unit give each student a different animal and have them create a glog about that animal's unique characteristics and how each thrives in its given environment.
4th Grade: Have students illustrate the differences between patriots and loyalists during the time of the Revolutionary War.
5th Grade: Students do book reports on WWII books in order to compare/contrast reality and fiction.

What other ideas do you have?