A great LOCATION

Recently I was searching for an application that students could use to store video. I found more than I was looking for-- http://www.kickapps.com/

KickApps is a social and media application site. After signing up for a free URL, the user can upload audio, video and photos, invite friends, post to blogs, and belong to groups.This is a WYSIWYG editor (What-You-See-is-What-You-Get) so after choosing from a short list of templates for a site, the site is available within minutes. There is an RSS feed from the site to further update the user's network of friends. You can also update your site with your favorite RSS feeds so it can be very personalized for the user. If the user has more advanced web design skills, there is also an option to customize the site using .css (cascading style sheets).

The educational uses for this type of tool in the distance education environment are many. For example, the user can create a web page and upload their movies and audio as a way to present their work both for the traditional (face-to-face environment), blended learning or fully online environment. Other students can preview the materials that the student is going to present and they can critique by using the message board or uploading an audio file.

Since we have examined many of the positive attributes of this site, let's see if there are any potential downsides. First of all, after you create your URL, you are immediately available to the public at large and announced in the "Recent Members" community. This does of course suggest that the user may get visitors and comments from those they are not looking to have visit their site but that is part of the web at this point in time.

Cleo Magnuson
Instructional Designer
NCSU-DELTA