Resource Name: WallWisher

URL: http://wallwisher.com

Uses: Brainstorm and Organize, Survey and Poll, Quiz Quickly, Construct Meaning, Write Together, Read and Respond, Watch and React

Teacher Time Investment: IIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

   Student Learning Curve: IIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII   

Description: Wallwisher is basically an online bulletin board to which users can collaboratively submit notes, images, etc. See a demo board.

In a post on The English Companion Ning, Charles Young described how he uses Wallwisher for asynchronous student responding:

I discovered Wallwisher.com this past week and put it to the test with happy results.  Wallwisher allows you to create a wall (a.k.a. webpage that takes sticky notes by the click of a mouse).  Students need not register or login, so you can do this on the fly.  Set up your wall with a title, subtitle (maybe a special instruction or focus prompt), graphic, and pick a color design. Name its URL extension and you are ready to have your students point their browsers to it.  You may also designate whether comments will be moderated or not (recommended). 

Since students don't register, they need to type in their names (we use first names and last initials only).  Of course, their might be some unwanted guests and students could pose as each other, so I moderated comments. They still have the thrill of seeing their posts immediately, but no one else does until you approve.  In addition to 160 character text posts, the stickies will also host images from the web, video, audio, and other media, making this an exciting way for students to collaborate, research, and share information. Conversely, you may embed your wall into a class website, wiki, or Facebook page.

My first go at it was as an asynchronous dialogue of questions and answers related to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Take a peek here.

Applications for the Classroom:

• Exit tickets: all students respond to an open ended question.
  
• Running questions/thoughts about a text selection or unit theme (see figure to right).
• Students can collect colorful figurative language and "cool sentences" from their reading. Some of these can later be submitted to Notable Sentences... for Imitation and Creation (see my write-up here).
• Add a "What's New and Notable" bulletin board to your teacher's page. Include assignment updates, links to current events, etc. See mine at the bottom of my main site.
• Share files and videos which are related to classroom discussion topics.
  
• Get instant student responses to poems, song lyrics, facts, quotations.
  
• Allow students to record thoughts and questions as they watch a video or read a chapter.

Notes and Caveats:

• If you don't want students to simply copy what others write, you may want to moderate comments and approve all at once, after students are given sufficient time to draft replies.
  
• The sign-ins are a bit clunky in comparison to the ease of LinoIt. But definitely use WallWisher if you need greater user accountability.

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