Apture captures interest

Apture, which came to my attention via a post from Will Richardson, is a very interesting application for blogging, although I think it will take a little getting used to. I think where it could really have success is in:

• teaching students how to hyperlink, and reference sources;
• showing students that writing is not a one-step process, that you can continue to develop your ideas (even after initial publication, in this case);
• demonstrating the interconnectness of web-based publishing;
• encouraging students to read and view beyond their initial idea for a blog post;
• making the reading of blog posts more interactive;
• adding visual support to ideas;
• creating a blog-based project;
• a thematic class blog;
• a school newspaper blog

After you publish a post, you then highlight key words and Apture does the searching for you for links to related sites, definitions, pictures, maps or videos. One thing about it that is a little bit annoying is that the tutorial video then pops up every time you visit your own blog, although I'm sure there would be a way to stop that.

Footnote: You really have to admire Apture's tech support and follow up. Within seconds of posting, I received my answer to the 'problem' that I mentioned in the previous paragraph:

Hi Pat,

This is Tristan from Apture. I really like some of the applications for using Apture that you pointed out.You can hide the tutorial video by clicking the "Don't show this next time" link on the bottom right of the window. We're going to make this link more obvious so that people notice it quicker.

Best,Tristan

Now that's service!