Use:  Stormboard is a learning tool that allows multiple users to access a virtual "whiteboard" and collaboratively edit via posting "sticky notes".  The synchronous access gives it similar advantages to accessing a googledoc.  Students could upload photos or provide comments on sticky notes and then comment on each other's contributions.  Little voting pins can be added to favorite notes or photos so that the entire group can see which contributions are preferred.  Handily, the program provides various templates that could be useful including these few examples from the "Education Templates": 

"Character Map"

"Conflict Map"

"Reading and Analyzing Non-fiction"

There are also blank templates as well as options from other template categories such as Sales or Admin.

Cost:  The only capability that you can access for free is 1 administrator with unlimited storms with up to 5 users per storm.  In order to use this for a class, it would cost $5/month to allow unlimited users per storm.  That said, you could divide up a class into groups of 5 or less for group work and each group could use a storm for free.

Review:  http://newtech.coe.uh.edu/tool-name.cfm?toolid=162&toolname=Stormboard

Thoughts:  I had never used this program before, and in fact, had never heard of it.  It took about 5 minutes from the time that I signed up to the time that my verification code arrived in my email inbox for my google account.  For some reason, my original request with my ODU account never received a verification email.  Note that this verification code with which you activate your account went directly into my spam folder, so if you use this technology, then be sure to check there!

I'm not sure how many advantages this program offers over using a googledoc (which immediately allows infinite users).  Some might be drawn to the visual representations of ideas for organizing, but I'm not convinced that it offers significant improvement.  One frustration with the sticky notes is that you can only view as much content as fits on the sticky note.  You can write as much as you want on one, but the sticky note does not expand so that you can read the entire thing.  Instead, you must double-click on it to read the entire contents of the sticky.  Also, overlapped stickies make it hard to access information on covered stickies.  It seems to save as you work just like googledoc, but an upgraded subscription is required to Import your board, whereas googledoc allows you to save a copy any time.

Here is my stormboard with my notes:  https://www.stormboard.com/invite/102760/shorts58

ID:  102760  Key:  shorts58

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My comments can be found on the following write-ups for this week:

Amy's Glogster Write-up- From Amy's work, it looks like Glogster is A LOT of work.  As to whether the benefits outweigh the time is my primary question, but the end product looks very impressive.  I can imagine having students complete something like this to go along with or to summarize a presentation.  It looks so good, I want to try it, but her write-up gives me fear about time constraints.  Way to go, Amy!

Kim's Coggle Write-up- From Kim's work, it looks like Coggle has benefits for presenting particularly hierarchical information.  It seems like it would also work nicely for family tree types of information.  I really like her idea about using it to help students plan essays.