Kollaborate.io

Have you tried Kollaborate.io? Kollaborate.io is a fun little collaboration tool. Think of it as cross between Google Hangouts (multi-way video chat) with canvas-like collaboration (like Prezi).

The center of the interface is a scalable canvas, much like Prezi. On top of the canvas users can import documents, videos, and images. A really unique feature to this tool is the ability to hold text-based conversations around each item placed on the canvas. To add some frosting to the cake, they have also added the ability to draw on the canvas, and display webcam video from all participants (like Google Hangouts).

Videos can be added directly from YouTube with a search widget built into the page. Likewise, Google Images and Flickr images can also be added easily. Files are uploaded from your computer in various images files and .doc, .ppt, and .pdf formats.

If I could improve this tool, I would add the ability to edit documents in real-time with my teammates. It would also be nice to watch the YouTube videos together. As is, each user plays the video on their own and watches it by themselves.  There are definite advantages to both.

If you or your students are looking for a fun tool that will give you a unique collaboration experience this one is definitely worth a try.