BP9_2010013_Web2.0-Vanilla

My search for a Web 2.0 application this month was in part motivated by my Action Research project. My plan thus far is to utilize Web 2.0 tools to increase collaboration amongst a staff that rarely has time to collaborate. Finding a tool to use has not been difficult; in fact, there are a plethora of tools geared towards increased collaboration. In an effort to introduce the most effective tools for collaboration amongst my colleagues, I have established a few criteria. The tool must have little to no learning curve, it must have a clean and simple interface, registration cannot be a hassle, and finally it must be free.

During my first cycle I will be running a Web 2.0 version of our Professional Learning Community book study. These book studies have been very traditional in that we meet monthly over a period of months and discuss the book we are reading. This is usually done during a whole group faculty meeting. These sessions are usually held immediately after school. For the most part, people attend these book studies because they are required to do so; most participants seem exhausted, apathetic, and unfocused. A handful of participants contribute to the dialogue while the majority of the participants remain quiet. In this atmosphere it is difficult to assess whether or not individuals are reading the selected book.

When I was thinking about opportunities for collaboration and communication I immediately thought of our book study. The question was, “How could we utilize Web 2.0 tools to make a more participatory and effective book study?” I immediately thought of our FSO discussion boards. I was curious as to how the discussion forums had evolved since the early days of the Web. All the forums I had dealt with in my life had been very cumbersome and did not have an overall pleasing aesthetic. After searching through numerous hosted and non-hosted options I finally found Vanilla.

Vanilla touts itself as a “super simple discussion forum that you can use to build community.” One of the first aspects of the site I noticed was its minimalistic user interface. It is not unlike Twitter or Tumblr. Registering for the site could not have been simpler. The hosted service is free to its user and offers a few premium services for organizations wanting to integrate the application with there own website. If the administrator is familiar with editing CSS, then the site is easily customizable. Like with many blogging tools, the user can incorporate user-developed plugins. I am excited that I will not have to train my staff to utilize this tool. They simply need to register and they are able to immediately contribute.

I have given you more context for why I needed an application such as Vanilla. In truth, there is not much to describe about this Web 2.0 tool. The simplicity of Vanilla was its biggest selling point. I think it is amazing how some of the simplest applications can be the most user-friendly and effective tools for collaboration.