Wall Wisher and Linoit are 2 free websites that mimic a virtual corkboard. It can be used by one person, a small group, or even a whole class.
During my study abroad experience last summer we used Wall Wisher after every class to answer a question regarding what we had learned that day. Additionally, we could add a picture by copying and pasting the web address to a picture off of the internet. I thought it was great to see what everyone else took from the lessons. I felt it was more expressive than a post-it or "sheet out the door" activity because we were able to use a picture to help emphasize what we were trying to say. The only down side is that there is a limited amount of characters you can use. Unfortunately when I tried to use this with my students at school I found out that wall-wisher wouldn't work on our school computers.
After talking with the media teacher at my school about Wall Wisher, she mentioned the Linoit. The media teacher at our school first used it with my class while we taught an internet safety lesson. We had the students do a Garfield internet safety activity and then use the Linoit corkboard to share some of the things they learned about internet safety. My students absolutely loved it. A couple of weeks late I had my students use this website to share similes and metaphors they found in their book during independent reading. I think this tool is fabulous and I hope to one day get it set up where each student has a corkboard. Since my students use actual post-it notes during readers workshop, I think this virtual would save a lot of money and trees and it is a huge motivational strategy for my students who struggle.
http://www.wallwisher.com/
http://en.linoit.com/
I love Wallwisher too and have used it in grad school a couple of times. Until your post, I had not heard of Linoit. It's on my list to check it out--maybe over Christmas break. And let me tell you that using the corkboard to have your students post similes and metaphors is such a wonderful idea. I truly enjoy reading your posts each week! You are teaching me so much!
ReplyDeleteKaren, you're messages have been so encouraging!! Thanks for your kind words. I am glad my posts have been helpful. I love learning new technologies that I can implement in my classroom so if you know of any, please feel free to share. :) Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteI have tried to use Wallwisher at home and it always works well but when I use it at school the notes always "fall off" the wall. I will try to use Linoit. Thanks for the tips.
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