Parents' Guide to

MURAL

By Erin Brereton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 9+

Multifaceted bookmark boards help kids collaborate, create.

Website https://mural.co/
MURAL Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this website.

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

pyc1
pyc1 Adult
September 29, 2015
age 10+

Incredibly difficult to use

Murally is really inconvenient. Simple trying to edit a text box is difficult and this frustrates me when I have deadlines and the website I decide to use is horribly useless. Even paint is better. Don't even bother trying to use Murally unless you want to be really stressed.

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
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What’s It About?

The MURAL.LY social bookmarking tool makes idea-sharing a simple, visual process. Kids can save text, video, and images to a virtual corkboard, and its access can be limited to certain users. The boards function like sticky notes: elements can be moved and revised by one or more users. (In fact, kids can share ideas and other content on virtual sticky notes.) To start a discussion, users only have to type @ and another user's name; that user will get a notification email. Kids also can view a log of mural changes and additions.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Kids can create an eye-catching message board, complete with text, video, and images. Mural.ly combines social bookmarking and communication, making it an ideal format for brainstorming and group project work. You can invite other individual users or send out a board link to a group; kids have to register for the site to get access, but the system provides a fairly safe, insulated experience. Also, it's easy to use: kids who are familiar with popular sites such as Facebook should understand many of the shortcuts. Kids also can add ideas via sticky notes in a variety of colors and, with a fairly reasonable Pro subscription, chat and collaborate in real time. Kids who tend to think in a very linear way may find the design challenging, but it can be great for those who don't. Similarly, boards with a large number of users may quickly get overcrowded with ideas, but Mural.ly provides a generally effective method for sharing ideas -- and can give each student working on a project a chance to contribute and build off other students' suggestions.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Ask your child for an example of a project or event that involved teamwork. Are there any things your child thinks would help improve the process next time?

  • Respecting other people's opinion is a big part of working in a group. Can your child identify two or three ways to express constructive criticism instead of phrasing a suggestion in a way that might hurt someone's feelings?

Website Details

  • Subjects: Language & Reading : discussion, presenting to others, Arts : drawing, photography
  • Skills: Communication : conveying messages effectively, multiple forms of expression, Collaboration : group projects, meeting challenges together, Tech Skills : social media
  • Genre: Educational
  • Pricing structure: Free to try, Paid, Free (After a free trial, subscriptions are $12 per member per month for a Starter plan or $20 per member per month for the Plus plan.)
  • Last updated: September 27, 2019

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