Wiffiti - the Interactive Message Board

Wiffiti is an interactive real-time message board

Wiffiti is a dynamic and interactive message board that displays real-time messages from various social media sources. 

Wiffiti is an excellent tool for teachers who want the ability to get immediate feedback from students. As educators know, checking for student understanding is a key component of the learning cycle. The feedback allows teachers the opportunity to direct future lessons to areas students are having difficulty with.

Another educational advantage of Wiffiti is students, especially reluctant learners, are more willing to participate in class activities as the risk to do so is minimized and the opportunities to contribute are more readily available. No matter what type of student you may have, Wiffiti encourages student engagement and a motivation to learn.


How to Get Started:
1. Sign up for an account here.
2. Create a new board by filling in the fields.
3. You are now ready to receive messages! Messages can be received 3 ways:
            - text message
            - Twitter
            - wiffiti.com

Tip: Before students start using Wiffiti, it is a good idea to discuss and set the expectations for shared content ahead of time as the messages can be anonymous.  

In recent months, Wiffiti has undergone significant changes as the tool has garnered a high level of interest from educators. To take advantage of this new market, the company that developed Wiffiti, LocaModa, has redesigned it for more educational applications. Currently, this beta-platform tool is undergoing testing and as a result, full access to Wiffiti is restricted to users who have signed up with specific educational email accounts.  For instance, services such as the G-rated filter and "zap" unwelcome comments feature may not be available.

Sample Classroom Activities:

1. "Ticket-out-the-Door" - before students leave class, have them respond to specific questions about the material covered or summarize the day's lesson.

2. Brainstorming - generating ideas as a class on any topic is quickly and easily achieved using Wiffiti. I really like that students who are having difficulty generating ideas can "steal" suggestions from others in a risk-free environment.

3.  Back Channel Chat - students can pose questions as a lesson is delivered.  The teacher can address those questions as a part of the ongoing lesson.

4.  Socratic Circles - to encourage participation of the outer group, students can forward comments or questions to the inner group via Wiffiti.

A final suggestion is the use of Wiffiti as a Professional Development tool.  Any of the above-mentioned activities can easily be transferred. 

Wiffiti is an excellent web tool that engages and motivates students to learn.  Click here to get started!

This blog is originally appeared on The De-tech-tive 4 Teachers.

Creating Electronic Posters with GlogsterEDU

GlogsterEDU is the one Web 2.0 tool I have used consistently over the past several years.  I really like the idea that students can demonstrate their knowledge on any topic using images, video, and audio all in an easy to use electronic poster format.  Student engagement is usually quite high with GlogsterEDU in that it allows for the creation of a fun and interactive poster that students enjoy sharing with others.  To get a better sense of the potential of GlogsterEDU, there are links below of an "I AM" poem my students wrote and presented to their peers using GlogsterEDU this past school year.

http://sk755z3.edu.glogster.com/glog/
http://emmagott.edu.glogster.com/glog-8884/
http://sg8yf8p.edu.glogster.com/i-am-poster/

I have saved the best part of GlogsterEDU for last, however.  The time-saving, organizational features of GlogsterEDU are extremely useful for educators.  For instance, the educator account not only generates student accounts that teachers have full access to but also allows for the daily tracking of student progress.  I find this particularly useful as students who are struggling can be quickly and easily identified with a few clicks of the mouse.  To learn more about the GlogsterEDU features specific for teacher-use, please view my screencast below.




HINT: Assigning student account information can be problematic.  The strategy I use is to copy and paste the account information into a word processing document and then assign student names to each account.  Distribute the information as you see fit, but I do recommend having students record their nickname and password (cell phones are great to use for this) somewhere safe as the account information will be difficult to remember.  Be sure to keep a master copy!  You can manually change each individual account with more user-friendly information but that would take time.