By Alicia Rescigno, Educational Coordination Manager, Know My World
Are you looking for a website where your students can easily collaborate on their work? How about a FREE application that can be downloaded to any device? Sway is an interactive website or application where anyone can sign up and share pictures, videos, and content. Since it is a Microsoft application, you can link your Sway account to any other Microsoft applications you already use. This will help you access your pictures and documents that have already been made and saved.
Sway is a great tool for teachers or students to tell a story. Sway asks users to think of building their project using index cards. The builder automatically takes the information you upload or use and places them on cards, so they are movable and help you get organized. You can also group these index cards in a variety of ways to create a slideshow, story, or presentation, just to name a few.
To get started on your storyline board, you drag and drop a card and add content. You can then choose from a variety of design options to make your Sway stand out. When you find a design of your liking, one click will change your entire Sway right on your screen so you know exactly what it will look like when you are ready to publish. You can also rearrange the view of your Sway by making it the normal vertical view or horizontal. This gives you great options on how you want your Sway to be seen by other viewers.
During the Spring semester, a few teachers who participated in the EveryWorld Initiative campaign from Know My World used Sway as their basis for interaction and sharing content. A teacher in the Ukraine and in the United States used Sway to share their collaborative project. It was easy to share project timelines, videos and overall experiences by simply sharing a URL. So if you are looking for something easy, accessible for your next project, story, or video, check out Sway!
