Review by Erin Brereton, Common Sense Education | Updated October 2013
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MURAL

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Multifaceted message boards help kids collaborate

Subjects & skills
Subjects
N/A
Skills
  • Communication & Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Critical Thinking
Grades This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.
2–12
Great for:
Common Sense says (See details)
Teachers say (2 Reviews)
Price:  Free, Free to Try, Paid For educators and students, MURAL is free. For everyone else, the membership costs $12 per year.
Platforms:  Website

Take a look inside

5 images
The site dashboard shows the murals you've made; you can make a new one by clicking the "Create New Mural" square.
Users can create a room to store their boards.
Users can drag and drop many elements and also search and upload images.
Kids can invite other users to add to or view their mural.
Users can view an activity overview to see what changes have been made to a mural.

Pros: Kids can work together on projects in an effective, visual way, in class or remotely.

Cons: Project boards can get overcrowded, and the tool contains no supplemental educational resources.

Bottom Line: MURAL can encourage individual team members to contribute to a project by making idea sharing and presentation a simple, visual process.

How Can I Teach with This Tool?

Schools and teachers can set up individual rooms that contain virtual corkboard-type murals. The rooms can be shared in a secure way, and teachers can manage user access. The school or teacher who originated the account owns the content, so if the students who worked on a particular virtual board delete their account, the board information won't disappear.

Boards can grow as items are added, providing students ample space for creativity. They can also communicate with other board users they're working with through the site, which lets them build off of and respond to each others' ideas. Teachers can encourage students to use the site when working together on group projects. MURAL allows them to pool mental resources and share ideas, even when working remotely. 

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Put this tool into practice:
Standards:

MURAL (formerly Mural.ly) is a website (and Chrome app) where kids can save text, video, and images to a virtual corkboard to share or catalog them for future use. It functions as a social bookmarking aid and brainstorming tool by making idea sharing and presentation a simple, visual process. Text elements function like notes and can be moved and revised by one or more users. You can make murals private by inviting certain users and assigning editing rights. To start a discussion, kids just need to type an @ symbol before another user's name. The user will get a notification email about the mention. Kids can also see a log of all changes and additions.

MURAL's structure can be used to facilitate classroom group projects. Teachers can create rooms, which essentially function like folders, to house murals. They can invite students to a room and give kids access to all murals in it to collaborate on projects. Two or more users can access boards and collaborate in real time, and teachers can monitor content and manage access to rooms to keep them a secure space.

Kids who tend to think in a very linear way may find the design frustrating; similarly, boards with many users can get crowded, fast. However, the site provides a generally effective method for sharing ideas. Designed to accommodate multiple users, MURAL can give each student a chance to contribute and build off of other students' posts. 

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

MURAL is fun and easy to use. Kids can exercise creative control, customizing note color, font, and other elements. Shy students, kids working remotely, and other team members can easily communicate and share ideas.

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

Unfortunately, kids won't find many educational extras; adults will need to reinforce learning by emphasizing things like teamwork. Still, kids get a valuable chance to practice communication and collaboration skills.

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

Kids get frequent prompts and help using the tool; users can also view sample boards to see how the site works. A blog offers site information and tips.

Common Sense Reviewer
Erin Brereton
About our ratings and privacy evaluation.

Key Standards Supported

Speaking & Listening

  • SL.9-10.1

    Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

  • SL.9-10.1b

    Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed.

  • SL.9-10.1c

    Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions.

  • SL.9-10.1d

    Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.

  • SL.9-10.2

    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

  • SL.9-10.4

    Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

  • SL.9-10.5

    Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

  • SL.11-12.1

    Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

  • SL.11-12.1b

    Work with peers to promote civil, democratic discussions and decision-making, set clear goals and deadlines, and establish individual roles as needed.

  • SL.11-12.1c

    Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.

  • SL.11-12.1d

    Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task.

  • SL.11-12.2

    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

  • SL.11-12.4

    Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

  • SL.11-12.5

    Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

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.

Writing HS/S/T

  • WHST.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 2 reviews) (2 reviews) Write a review
Featured review by
Chad S. , Technology coordinator
Technology coordinator
Perris High School
Perris, CA
It's like an interactive corkboard that can be used as a presentation, much like Prezi with less motion sickness!
Mural.ly allows users to save text, images and video on a zooming Prezi-style board, but is much more akin to a literal interpretation of Pinterest’s pinboard. My students are able to create something like a flowchart to display what they have learned. Videos, graphics, and websites can be included in an exciting visual display. Students set up an account and can invite other students to collaborate on the same project. Teachers can set up a mural.ly and invite select groups of students to work on it. This project has applications for any subject and is easily embedded into Wikiprojects or other websites.
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