Wallwisher is a virtual notice-board using 'sticky' post-it note-style messages. The notice board is relatively straightforward to create, give a title, a subtitle, a background design and an image to go with it. Images, hyperlinks and videos can also be added. The creator has the option to set access rights, who can view it as well as the control to approve, edit or delete postings. Contributions can be identified to particular students or added anonymously. Notes have timings added (i.e. how long ago posted) so that you can keep track of the chronological order of the postings. Crucially, the notes can be dragged around the wall as they get added.
Wallwisher is another collaborative tool, where teachers and/or students can add content and build up a store of information. Meaning can be negotiated and constructed, especially if it is used to gather opinions on a topic. It is useful for feedback during or after an activity and in that way is similar to a backchannel tool, such as described in #1 TodaysMeet, though not as linear.
Here is a short clip of our classroom, using Wallwisher to feedback on collaboration following different pair-work activities in class:
- Brainstormer - as a topic brainstormer for the beginning of the lesson.
- Resource Sharing - as a way to collate links on a particular theme.
- Personal Walls - students create their own walls for other students to add to, at any time!
- Scavenger Hunt - as a basis to go hunting for more information on the internet, similar to WebQuests.
- Discussion - used as a way to collect opinions during a class discussion.
- Debate - used to separate different opinions as part of a debate. Students can be selected to control the wall as they decide which side an opinion goes on.
- Storyboarding 1 - create a narrative which contributors take it in turns to build up a story.
- Storyboarding 2 - Get students to rearrange a story from pre-printed texts, by dragging and rearranging texts.
- IWB Alternative - used as an alternative to or using an interactive whiteboard.
- Take the name literally, and ask students to make a 'wish list' for future lessons or something they would like to do in class.
- The only option of who can post is 'everyone' or 'creator', so more options would be nice.
- There only a fixed font for all postings and doesn't seem to be much variation to font size or how the postings look.
- Only YouTube video clips can be added.
- Images and files can't be uploaded from a hard drive, it has to come from a link.
- Contributions might not be guaranteed from participants.
- The tool is still in BETA and has been prone to crashing.
- The wall can become quite cluttered and disorganised, making it difficult to make sense of the contributions - see below.
This is a screencast video from EduTecher about how easy it is to use:
