Mark Your Online Notice Board

Web-based notice boards offer students the possibility to communicate easily with a larger number of individuals simultaneously, therefore opening up the classroom for online discussions. Thus, teachers should create online notice board for students to communicate, to display and discuss work or to collaborate on a project. For these purposes, WallWisher can be your helper.

Link: http://www.wallwisher.com/

 

General Description

WallWisher is a tool to create an online notice board where a group of people can easily communicate with each other by sticking virtual notes. These notes can have text, images, web links, or include online videos such as from YouTube. To get started, simply go to the site and click ‘build a wall.’ Then, users will be given some options for: uploading an image, choosing colours, adding title and subtitle, creating password, and deciding who can see and add to their wall. Once these are done, the content (sticky notes) is now ready to be added on their wall. Before adding content, the users need to check their email account where they can found their password. Then, they have to log in to their wall and double click on the wall to start adding the sticky notes. The sticky notes added to a WallWisher wall can contain up to 160 characters of text plus links to images and videos. If the users choose the public setting, anyone can quickly add sticky notes to their wall, and this also allows for the quickest set-up and use of WallWisher for teachers as they only need to give students the URL of their wall for them to add notes to the wall. The following screenshot is an example of an online notice board using the WallWisher.

Level and Age

WallWisher can be applied for students at all levels of English proficiency since the content can be adjusted to the students’ ability. The web too is suitable to be used by both primary and secondary school students at the age of 10 to 17. This tool can also be utilized by adult learners.  

How To Use WallWisher For Teaching English?

This tool can be used for many purposes such as brainstorming ideas, developing grammar skill, and improving writing and speaking skills. Sean Banville (2010) suggested a few ways teachers can use WallWisher with students:

1. Brainstorming: Teacher puts a writing topic on WallWisher and asks students to brainstorm some ideas on that. This is a good way to elicit ideas from the students who might not want to express in front of the class.
2. Grammar correction: Teacher posts students’ errors as stickies and then students have to post corrections. This can be revisited over several days in students’ own time. It is also good for teamwork – how many students on the same team posted the corrected versions?
3. Writing: 
   
   a.   Teacher posts an image, and students need to write about the image posted on the      wall.
   b.   Students could create a wall they use as a semester journal. They could section off different parts of it for learning, activities, weekends, hobbies, friends, etc. They could open their wall to their friends to comment on.
4.  Speaking:
   a.    Post debates: Teachers put different arguments or different stickers for students to look at and respond to orally.
   b.   Agony aunt and uncle:  Teacher posts stickies that ask for advice. Students discuss the advice to give.
   c.     Comparative and superlatives: Students post example of these based on images, text, audio, or video in stickies.

Evaluation

Advantages:

1. WallWisher creates a communicative learning environment. It encourages students to involve in collaborative conversation when they talk about the topic discussed on WallWisher. This activity uses language for carrying out meaningful task, hence it promotes learning.
2. Besides, the tool appeals to the different learning styles of the students. It caters with students’ multiple intelligences by allowing them to upload videos, images and web links. 
3. Teachers will be able to assess students’ understandings of a concept formatively. Hence, feedback can be given to the students with regards to their language performance.
4. Additionally, this web tool helps to improve students’ multiple language skills such as writing, speaking, grammar, vocabulary, and creative thinking.
5. Moreover, WallWisher allows for input participatory rather than passive. To complete the task, students will have to involve in active learning. Active learning will then promotes students’ critical thinking in the process of making meaning (ideas/content). Petty (2004) said that, active learning is much better recalled, enjoyed, and understood.

Disadvantages:

1. It is not very useful for a lot of stick notes. The notes will overlap with each other when the wall can no longer provide a space for notes to be arranged tidily. 
2. WallWisher only allows the text to contain up to 160 characters. Therefore, ideas can be discarded as students are limited to what they can say. 
3. Public wall could be spammed with inappropriate and unwanted post. Thus, it is better to regularly monitor the walls and setting it private if it starts to be attacked.

References:

Banville, S., (2010). Wallwisher: 105 Classroom Ideas. Sean Banville’s Blog, [blog] 26 June. Available at : 
    <http://seanbanville.com/2010/06/26/wallwisher-105-classroom-ideas/> [Accessed 3 Oct 2011]

Petty, G., (2004). Teaching Today: A Practice Guide. 3^rd ed. Cheltanham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.