I think that this is a great alternative to the traditional poster and markers. Since it is something that many students have probably never used before, I think they would be excited to try it. I really like how it can be used by both students and teachers. I was wondering though, can the posters that students (or teachers) create be printed out? Because if so, then the posters could be hung around the classroom or school or taken home. I also like that the posters can be made either private or public. I think this is something that will ease the minds of teachers and parents.

Dabbleboard and Photo Story 3 are great and innovative ways for children in early childhood settings- home and school- to produce creative works.

Dabbleboard is an online whiteboard that allows users to draw using the freehand tool or the computer recognized shape tool. Dabbleboard helps users to visualize, explore, communicate, create, and share. In addition to the drawing features, users can voice and video chat with other users, make their creations available to the public, or send a link to their creation. Dabbleboard is a free website, but there are also paid plans available, which include more features. For students in early childhood settings, however, I feel that the tools and options available with the free plan are all they need. The downfall of Dabbleboard is that it can be hard to manipulate at times, especially if you are not a patient person. I can forsee some students becoming frustrated with Dabbleboard. I think that the freehand tool is often easier to use than the computer recognized shapes, plus it's more creative! I think that a wide variety of ages can find Dabbleboard beneficial, from first through fifth grade students. Dabbleboard allows students to freely express themselves by drawing. There are almost no restrictions to a students creavitivy.

I have personally used Photo Story and feel that it is a great addition to an early childhood setting. Not only can students use the tool in class, but they and their families can find many uses for it at home. With Photo Story, users simply upload their digital photos and begin their creation. They can add special effects, transitions, captions, music, and for a more personal touch, their own voice narration. I feel that early childhood students would love the voice narration aspect. Again, this technology can be used by a wide variety of ages. Younger students may need extra help uploading pictures, reading the instructions, or using the addtional technology components. Therefore, this technology would be better suited for older elementary and middle school students. If youngers students were to use this, they would need sufficient help from an adult. To add voice narration, users need a microphone to capture their speech. From my experience, there should be no problems with simply plugging in a microphone and beginning your narration. One of the features that I love about Photo Story is that you can record your narration for one picture at a time, so if you make a mistake, you do not have to start all over again. Simply pick up where you left off! Students will be able to create photo stories for a variety of topics, activities, and events. Photo Story can also be used to include children's families in the classroom or as a way for parents to see what goes on in the classroom.

In order to ensure that each student has fair access to these tools, I would suggest that teachers reserve a school computer lab. This way there are enough computers for each student to work with the tool for the same amount of time. With Dabbleboard, there is a way to keep creations private or for them to be seen by the public. If teachers, students, or parents wish to keep creations private, they can make sure that the artwork is selected as as "private" not "public." I feel that Dabbleboard is more child-directed than Photo Story, simply because Dabbleboard would require less adult help. Photo Story can be very child-directed as well, only if the students know how to use all parts of the computer and additional technology components.