Technology is a vile beast. As we all know it goes wrong at the worst possible moments, teases constantly, and is never satisfied to just stay in one place.

It is with that cynical look that I announce the death of Microsoft's Popfly.com. As of Aug 24 with little to no fanfare Microsoft is ending it. This isn't the first time a service I've used has died but it is the first time one so integral to my classroom has. I used Popfly to create learning games for my website as well as interactive maps.

I actually feel betrayed.

Maybe that is a sign I take all this stuff far too seriously but when I think of how much time I put into it and how much my kids utilized it I'm left very angry. I'll move on, of course. I guess I'll finally break down and learn to use Sharendipity now. I'll use photobucket for my image carousel and there has to be another way to embed maps into my site.

To find out now though, only 2 weeks before the start of school is like getting dumped right before prom.

Microsoft, you've broken my heart.

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OOOf. That is a kick in the teeth. I imagine you produced great content, games, pages, the whole nine yards, too, huh? I have a similar fear about Google docs going to a pay subscription, or Yola or whatever I use. You are right, it is a dual-edged sword. It can make you or break you entirely.
Yes, I would feel betrayed also. Wow, and only two weeks. We start on Monday, but that is besides the point.Because I am not familiar with this, it would be beneficial for me to know information regarding the time you put into the creation of your work and about your work. Did your students also spend time working on these and will that be lost? This really seems to be a real shame.

I am trying to come up with a concept paper for my research and maybe this could prove to be an interesting and needed area. I think I will look into the discontinuing of technology without enough warnings.and seek out the prevalence of the scenario.

Thank you very much Kev and I really am sorry.

Berta
Ouch, I feel your pain. If only something as simple as a bandaid and some ointment would help.
I have to give Microsoft a little credit as they personally responded to my email rant.

They blamed it on the economy which I have some problems accepting given that it was Microsoft and the platform was already built but hey, at least they responded.
Kev, I am not as tech saavy as you, but I use google earth & discovery education's atlas for my entry level skills. I don't know if you'd be interested, but the Discovery Education atlas is pretty cool. Good luck with you classes this year.
I'll check it out, I've never even heard of it. :)

I was able to use Google Maps to sort of replicate the map I was using with Popfly. It isn't as smooth or clean but it functions similarly enough.

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