Playing with WetPaint

I'm enthralled with WetPaint. The WetPaint wiki that is. This quarter I decided to dive into using Web 2.0 tools, and involve my CWU class (IT 461 Systems Analysis) in a wiki project called Systems Analyst Toolkit. Although we use Blackboard, my rationale for using a wiki was that students could build a learning community and information resource that would endure beyond the 10 week constraints of our contracted time together as a class. I chose WetPaint as the online platform because it seemed easy to use without much experience required. It has been a fun journey as the students and I discover features of this tool together.

My first discovery was that I could get an ad-free site for my class, just by emailing Wetpaint and requesting it. (Check out http://www.wetpaint.com/category/Education--Ad-Free for more information). They responded within 24 hours by taking the google ads off my site. Not that I mind the ads normally, but they can be a bit distracting for students...

My second discovery was the "To Do and Activities" list. Actually, a student went in and added a "To Do," so I investigated and found that there is a special place where you can post ideas for work to be done on site pages. Aha! A place to post assignments! It also helps you to promote a sense of community by organizing the work to be done, and anyone can post items in this list. Then, you can send messages and compliments directly to contributors by clicking on their names. A good community-building tool.

Another nice feature is the "Top Contributor" icons. At a glance, you can see who the current top contributors are, and you can view all contributors, along with details about their contributions. This helps tremendously with grading assignments! It's also kind of motivating to see your name/avatar as top contributor. It's amazing how these little things can make you feel good. As an instructor, it can be tempting to contribute a lot of the content, but after your initial set-up of the site, the top contributor feature encourages the class members to strive for center stage. :)

There's also an easy-to-use discussion board. I keep finding more thoughtful little community-building features every day. It would be easy to use this as a primary learning management platform. I'll blog more on this more as the wiki evolves.

Check out the WetPaint Wikis for Education site for more ideas from their educator community: http://www.wetpaint.com/category/Education