Another tool popping up in the web 2.o ocean of web based collaborative tools: Wallwisher
I usually sign up for most tool that come around so I can try it out at least once. I believe, that the best ideas on HOW to use a tool, come about when you are in the process of using it, not just thinking about it.
So Wallwisher says about themselves:
Wallwisher is an Internet application that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily.
One thing, I was not happy about from the start: There is a limit of characters in your USERNAME. It was the first time that EVER happened to me. “Langwitches” was considered TOO long of a username. I was stumped, what was I going to do? I sat there and contemplated if I should even bother signing up if I could not have my name!!! Wallwhishers, if you happen to read this, could you allow longer usernames, pleeeeaseeeee 
Once I got over it (well not really, since I am blogging about it), the rest was easy and intuitive. I created a wall, chose the background, gave it a title and subtitle and double clicked to add my first stickie :
- 160 characters or less
- Add a link to an image, audio or video link
I grabbed the URL of my wall, twittered about it and asked others to add their own thoughts.
I see this as a potential for professional development as well as in the classroom. An advantage for working with students (especially elementary age ones) is that:
- you don’t have to be a registered user in order to post a stickie
- set preferences who can view and edit the board
Here are some potential uses I can envision:
- any kind of collaborative brainstorming
- virtual announcement board
- create collaboratively a visual of relevant and supportive resources of a topic (bookmarking)
- Get students /teachers to PARTICIPATE with their opinions
Larry Farlazzo listed a few potential uses on his blog post Wallwisher is a Winner:
It can be a great place for students to use higher-order thinking by creating categories of images (and descriptions) or short texts they copy and paste (or write themselves). It can also be used as a site for social bookmarking of websites if you just right-click the website you put inside the sticky-note and then click on “open in a new window.â€
On Nik’s Learning Technology blog a lot more uses and examples of boards are listed. I especially liked his ideas about using the wall for:
Creating video and image activities or a space for debates
What uses to you envision or have used Wallwisher boards in your school with other teachers or students?
Here is my first board:
Building a Learning Community-
Social Profiles