Going green with Wallwisher

At least once a day I seem to be passing out sticky notes to my students to assess independent comprehension levels, to complete a warmup, or to brainstorm ideas.  In hopes of going green, or as it seems I always run out of sticky notes nearing the end of the school year, I was thinking I could use Wallwisher to complete the same tasks.

At our school, our fifth grade team completes the Simulated Congressional Hearings, which entails our students researching, analyzing, and presenting speeches on the United States Constitution in relation to current events.  Using this lesson, I have incorporated Wallwisher as a tool for students to address the constitutional questions as they relate to their current event.

Students are able to move their notes around, work in their groups to address each topic, and see each others' ideas as they develop their speeches.  Collaboration is a key component to the Simulated Congressional Hearing project and as noted on the ISTE Student standards, "students use digital media and environments to
communicate and work collaboratively, including
at a distance, to support individual learning and
contribute to the learning of others" (ISTE, 2007).

As Byrne discusses in Free Technology for Teachers article, wallwisher is great for adapting lessons for diverse students and Byrne actively uses the tool with his special education students.  He also references a slideshow entitled Nineteen Interesting Ways* to use Wallwisher in the Classroom by Tom Barrett, which includes such highlights as gathering feedback, sorting shapes, book reviews, showcasing student work, a suggestion box, peer presentation notes, and sharing resources.