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Review by Polly Conway, Common Sense Education | Updated August 2013

Meograph

Turn a series of moments into a layered multimedia experience

Subjects & skills
Subjects
  • English Language Arts
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Creativity
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
5–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (3 Reviews)
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
Layer detail upon detail with this multimedia storytelling tool.
Media can be added directly from any of these web resources.
Stories are made up of "moments," which can be text, video, or photo-based.
Adding a location causes a map to appear onscreen in this moment.
Share or embed Meographs using social media.

Pros: The depth of info you can add is really cool, and the process is pretty intuitive.

Cons: It would be nice to be able to search Meographs by subject.

Bottom Line: It's an outstanding tool for putting together information, and there's some great content available to browse as well.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Assign Meographs for any kind of historical event; kids can collect video, images, and timelines, then put them together in a classroom presentation. It's a little like a slideshow, but with more depth, and kids should enjoy the process. You can also certainly create your own Meographs for teaching anything that lends itself to the format.

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Standards:

Editor's Note: Meograph (renamed Trio) has closed and is no longer available.

Meograph is a multimedia storytelling website that lets users put together a series of "moments" to create a story in four dimensions. What the heck does that mean? Well, it's actually pretty simple. Use the creation tool to add a few pieces of media to each moment -- for example, a photo, date, location, and some audio narration -- and you'll get a visual interpretation of that data. Continue to add more moments, and your Meograph will play like a video documentary.

Sign-up requires an email and password, and each Meograph can be shared via social media, email, or embedding into a blog. All Meographs default to public status, so make sure to set each one to private if you don't want them displayed on the main search page.

Making a Meograph looks overwhelming at first; click the How-To button and the most intimidating infographic ever appears. But once you get started, the process is pretty intuitive, and you're guided by prompts for every step. Meographs are great for research projects or class presentations, and they flow really nicely.

The search function could use some tweaking; it would be nice if there were a way to search by subject, especially for kids. As it is, Meographs are searchable by Newest and Most Popular. The most-viewed Meograph is "Life of Whitney Houston," followed by "Best Soccer Goals of 2012," and in third place, "Photosynthesis." As you can see, there's a real mix of published content, but with a little hunting, kids can find some quality stuff.

Overall Rating
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Creating a Meograph is really satisfying, as the end result looks great. The interface is intuitive, and while it's not a bundle of fun, kids should feel engaged once they begin telling a story here.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Putting together various types of information to create a rich story is a totally transferrable skill, and depending on what kind of content kids choose to present, Meograph could be very empowering.  

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

There's a chat box at the bottom of the screen for immediate questions, but you have to click over to the blog for any kind of FAQ or organized instruction.

Common Sense Reviewer
Polly Conway Classroom teacher
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Reading Informational Text

  • RI.11-12.7

    Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

  • RI.5.7

    Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

  • RI.6.7

    Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.

  • RI.7.7

    Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).

  • RI.8.7

    Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.

  • RI.9-10.7

    Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.

Writing

  • W.11-12.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information.

  • W.5.6

    With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.

  • W.6.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

  • W.7.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and link to and cite sources as well as to interact and collaborate with others, including linking to and citing sources.

  • W.8.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

  • W.9-10.6

    Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

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Teacher Reviews

(See all 3 reviews) (3 reviews)
Featured review by
Jennifer G. , Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Vista High School
Vista, CA
Meograph allowed students to use their voice, text, and imagery to persuade their classmates when writing an argumentative essay. The presentations were powerful!
The best part about using a tool like Meograph, is that when students publish their work there is a higher level of concern when it is made public. My students worked twice as hard in the writing because they didn't want to sound inadequate to their friends in class. It also allowed them to see how other students responded to the same controversial issue.
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