Wetpaint

Online Assessment Final Exam

Features:

Wetpaint is a web site that combines wikis, blogs, and forums. Blogs tend to be one sided because they are monologues. Wikis expand the capability to allow the reader to become a fact-checker and an editor. The creators of Wetpaint had a friend who was diagnosed with cancer. He went searching on the Internet for personal stories of what the journey through cancer was like. From that experience the need for a simple click and type interface led to the creation of Wetpaint. It provides an easy to use forum where individuals can connect with each other and collaborate.

Strengths:

Ø Free

Ø Three easy steps to set up your site

Ø Variety of styles

Ø Just click and type to add content- no technology skills are needed

Ø Add as many photos, pages, and videos as you want

Ø Site reports track contributions

Ø E-mail notifications

Ø RSS feeds

Ø Control who can contribute to your site- editing controls

Ø Toolbox and navigation links are easy to follow

Ø Widgets are available

Challenges:

The primary caution with using Wetpaint is that it is open to the public and the content of other sites within Wetpaint may not be controlled. This is especially a concern when working with secondary students as using a site that is not limited to academic applications may seem to legitimize the other content available there.

Applications for Wetpaint in this course:

In addressing different learning styles and multiple intelligences the only fair assessments allow students to use a variety of formats to express their strengths. Collaboration is often an important element incorporated into classes as educators move away from the lecture model. This formative assessment can help create a picture of an individual student’s progress. But the problem is that assessing collaboration in a virtual environment is downright difficult. Wetpaint has a tracking mechanism for changes that can help assess the actual collaboration. Additionally, I’d have students track their changes in different fonts or colors and initial them. This allows me as the teacher to assess the contributions and thinking processes of each individual student. This type of assessment tends to be extemporaneous in response to the work of classmates and therefore reduces the opportunity for plagiarism. The wiki format can also encourage evaluation and analysis of information so it is well suited to a collaborative exercise in creating mini-lessons. This practice can add a third tool that students can potentially include in their own literacy classes.

Wetpaint

Spring 2007

Patricia Hutton