This week for my Web 2.0 tool I chose Kafafa. Yes, it has a weird name but if school systems would allow students to use it, it will be wonderful. This tool allows students to create websites for free. It actually reminds me of iWeb. It has templates already set up for you so there is no programming. Even though they have a lot of templates to choose from, you can also alter the templates to fit your taste. One thing I really like about the Kafafa is that you don’t have to have all of those irritating advertisements popping up every few minutes, It takes away from the website. If you happen to want the ads, they do offer a way for you to add them to your website while earning a little money on the side. Their search engines are connected to Google and Bing. This means that your website will more than likely pop up when key words are typed in. There is also a Kafafa Pro. Kafafa Pro is an advanced version. The storage is bigger, you can upload many documents of all kinds, have unlimited pages, and have your own customized web address. To acquire usage of the Kafafa Pro website, there is a fee. I did find out after reading further that the Kafafa website is not totally free. If you want your own web address they will give it to you for “a small fee”. Last but not least, they have a support page with the most frequently asked questions. Just click on a question and the answers pops right up. Students always want to create their own website. Kafafa will be fun for students and inexpensive.
As I work toward adding a variety of delivery methods to my project- based World Mythology course, I am intrigued by websites and their potential. Thus, when I came across Ms. Moncrief’s review of Kafafa, a website creation service, I immediately was drawn to the potential it offers.
ReplyDeleteI have investigated a number of ways to incorporate technology into my projects, which include pair and group work and always culminates in a presentation. Up to this point, the presentations have been limited to the PowerPoint or Keynote format, as all of our students have been trained in this method. However, the interest level in the same type of delivery method, which happens four times in the course of each semester, wanes as the semester rolls on.
I see the potential in allowing groups to have website creation as an option to utilize, and Kafafa seems simple to set up and simpler to use. My only barrier might be our school district’s restricted use policy, which, as Dena mentions in her review, would be a hurdle worth clearing.
I did some investigation throughout the site, and I believe the standard version is free, while the Pro version would incur additional charges. So, the price seems right. The company claims the interface is “the easiest website builder on the Internet”, and I have to agree that it is simple to use.
One potential drawback can be found on the Blog page. This is a relatively new site, launched this past March. The first update, which was announced in April of this year, and was expected to correct browser issues and bugs, has yet to be released. There have been shutdowns and delays, so, while this seems like the answer to complicated website creation, there is a potential that it may create more problems than solutions. I will keep an eye on future developments.
This would be wonderful to use-especially if it can get around the school’s Internet filter. It would be very easy on the teacher to grade assignments if they were able to subscribe to an RSS feed (or something similar) to be notified when students turned in work; this may also cut down on the inappropriate playing that could happen if the class knows the teacher is getting an update when they change their pages. Another plus is that the assignments would be time stamped AND it is all virtual, so no extra physical space in the classroom (or lugging papers home to grade) required! If it is as easy to use as iWeb there should be NO problems using this in a classroom setting.
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