Web tool analysis

Among the apps that Nik recommends in his blog, I ran into blubbr. It is an app that allows you to create a trivia based on a Youtube video. How does it work?
The first thing you have to do is to give your triv a title:

Then you 1) choose a Youtube video, 2) crop the video, 3) you create your questions and write possible answers, and 4) you publish your triv

I liked the idea very much and just looking at the instructions made me think it might be quite accessible. Besides, you can register using your Google account so you don't have to memorize any new username or password. Plus it is free and it can be used on your iPad, iPod, tablet or PC. Although I couldn't find much use for this app outside the classroom environment, I think it could be applicable to other subjects; not only English. 

I thought it might be a good idea for a task in which students have to create their own videos and share them with their classmates. If on top of creating a video, they created a triv, they would ensure their classmates are paying attention. 

However when I tried to use it I encountered several problems. First of all, you cannot put questions more than 20 seconds apart. That limits users a lot, since in some videos you might not have important or complete information that often. Also, there is the fact that users watch the video without knowing what they will be asked so they don't know what they should be paying attention to; will the question be about what the speaker is saying or about the background music, or about the image? And most importantly, when I tried to create my own triv, the app kept freezing and I had to start over. Imagine having 30 sts in a classroom and them being about to finish but having to start over because the site is not working properly... impossible!

Bottom line... it might be very appealing, and it might work well with videos sts have watched at least once, and clear instructions as to what they should pay attention to. But I would not advice that you should use with students in the classroom. Rather, if you like it, prepare a triv at home, make sure it's running smoothly, and bring it to the classroom as a treat/challenge every once in a while.