I have NO idea what the origin of the name may be, but Xpanity.com offers an interesting new browser add-on. It’s currently in Beta and issuing delayed invites to those who submit their email address. Once I receive my invite, am able to install and experiment with it, I’ll add more details to this blog post.

What is it?
The Xpanity Suite currently contains two applications: LiveChat and SharedBoard. In short, I think it’s “birds-of-a-feather-sessions meet Web2.0.” According to the website . . .

Xpanity LiveChat, “allows you to see the other browsers currently on the same web page as you are viewing. It provides you with the opportunity to interact with them on all levels. You can do all this anonymously. There is no need to register or provide any of your private information.”

Xpanity SharedBoard, “for each web page on the Internet . . . provides a Shared board for permanent comments that can be viewed by all Xpanity users.”

How does it work?
More on this once I’m able to install and use the application. Generally, clicking on an Xpanity button on your toolbar activates the Xpanity browser extension which enables participation in LiveChat with other users or on the persistent SharedBoard

What’s cool about it?
With Xpanity installed, every website seems to have an interactive component. It’s no longer incumbent upon a website to offer a chat tool; users with Xpanity visiting the same website can chat with one another regardless of the sites capabilities or available tools.

Of course, it’s dependent upon a broad volume of users actually adopting the technology, but assuming that requirement is met, Xpanity dramatically increases my ability to network and communicate with others of similar interests. What used to be invisible - other users accessing the same website at the same time as I am - now becomes visible and interactive.

I’m wondering if this may not be an influential Web2.0 application; consider the characteristics of it. It provides a contextualized browsing and micro-blogging experience. Rather than posting a link to Twitter or sharing it via Facebook to engage a social network regarding a specific site, Xpanity constructs a social network around a specific page or site.

How can it be used in the classroom?
Just off the top of my head, without having yet been able to install or use the application, I can imagine several applications.

Shared browsing. If not familiar with it, shared browsing is a tool which enables a group of users to view the actual browser on a facilitator’s desktop - ostensibly as the topic of a discussion or part of a training session. Although not as cohesive a solution, Xpanity may offer a substitute for shared browsing tools seen in other collaboration tools that support group discussion. As long as a user has Xpanity installed and knows which site to visit at a given time, it serves the same function.

Contextualized discussions. Rather than visiting a website and documenting thoughts in a course discussion board, learners can post their thoughts on a particular website to the Xpanity SharedBoard for the URL. Those comments are persistent which means there’s a lasting record of discussions by which participation can be measured, and the learners and the class as a whole engage the larger web-browsing community regarding that site. That leverages the community and encourages participation by others - much like public blogs and wikis do.

I originally stumbled across Xpanity at Jane’s e-Learning Pick of the Day

What is it?
The VodPod website uses phrases like:

• It’s your video network.
• Simply the best way to collect, share & watch videos.
• Let people watch your favorite videos from your favorite sites, right on your blog.

In short, it’s a personal repository for storing collections of online videos from popular video sites like YouTube, Google, Yahoo!, Daily Motion, MySpace, MetaCafe and others.

How does it work?
After creating an account, users have a default Pod and may add others. VodPod has a shortcut button to be added to browser toolbars. Adding items to your Pod only requires browsing video sites as you normally would and using the “Add to VodPod” button when needed. Using that button adds/embeds the video to your personal Pod.

What’s cool about it?

• Users can create different collections, each has their own URL; for example, I created this Web2.0 collection about 10 minutes.
• Each Pod has it’s own page where participants can add additional videos, rate and comment on existing videos, and message back and forth.
• Widgets. The VodPod player for a particular Pod can be embedded in another website which allows dynamic sharing of personally relevant videos. This is the widget for the aforementioned Web2.0 collection:

  
  

How can it be used in the classroom?
At the very least, VodPod provides a cleaner way to build and view a collection of online videos relevant to a specific topic. Rather than a list of simple links which branch out to a variety of pages, VodPod embeds all of the videos into the PodPage. This makes it easier to refer to and use online videos in a classroom (barring any bandwidth and access restrictions for YouTube imposed by your institution, of course ;-)

Also, VodPod has built in features to facilitate collaborative, community discussion regarding the videos. Learners can rate, comment on, and leave messages about the different videos. The possibilities for compare/contrast and critical review type activities are intriguing. A VodPod of two videos covering the same international event - one from Eurpoean news and one from US news source - could afford learners the opportunity to collaboratively discuss the two videos. Certainly, that’s a task possible with a bookmarking tool and a discussion board, but I do believe VodPod’s ease of use and available tools warrants its use.

Finally, Pod’ders can join a Pod and add additional videos. This creates opportunities for collaborative group work requiring the collection and critique of videos on a particular topic. Learners, in groups of four in a US History course, are asked to identify and collect images and videos focused on the end of World War II. VodPod provides the tool by which that collection can be accumulated and stored on the web, not to mention the other tools VodPod offers.

I first noticed VodPod via Alan Levine’s CogDogBlog.