pbwiki Yack Pack

Although I really like the idea of YackPack and feel it has a place in certain settings - I don't think my school, or the students at my school, would use this program. Most of the students are much more comfortable with writing conversationally (text messaging, IM'ng) than they are with something like YackPack. Also, not all students would have access to this (where all have access to texting) so those that did would (I am guessing) feel limited that they cannot access all their classmates/peers/friends. Again, though I really like the idea of YackPack and discussing things "digitally" I cannot yet see it working until all students have access all the time and buy into the technology as well as the idea. Not only do I see a problem with the students wanting to buy into the idea, I cannot see the administration (the tech coordinator) allowing this to be used in our school. Unfortunately, those things that are not familiar are not really allowed. This is frustrating but something I have come to terms with - trying to incorporate a few new tools here and there with little pushes but I have to prioritize technology tools otherwise I will be met with constant disdain and nothing will be allowed. Unfortunate reality of my district. (Now I strongly support my district but truth be told - they are quite hesitant when it comes to students utilizing technology).
Tapped In seems like a wonderful tool. I can't tell exactly how it is that different from a wiki other than the fact that others from all over can contribute/comment where as a wiki for the classroom would remain more private. As I tried to navigate through TappedIn it just seemed like there was so much stuff. I really enjoyed the project Hillcrest High School put together - it is truly inspiring what some schools are doing with technology.
As far as how I might use one of these online discussion sites...on a local level, there has been much controversy about a recent locker change. The administration and the 7/8 grade teachers did some research and decided to create a middle school within our K-12 building. As a result of this change, the beloved "senior hall" will disappear as the younger kids will be moving in. I have already started online discussion about this topic. We discussed traditions, did some work with Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and also incorporated role playing. The class used classroomblogmeister.com as their blogging tool for discussion. Unfortunately they were greatly discouraged b/c the tool was repetitive (in passwords and log ins) as well as slow and at times simply refused to log in certain students. They became frustrated and some shut down b/c of the technology tool being used. Using something liked a wiki or tappedin would allow for more open discussion (blogmeister has individual blogs) as well as faster communication. Also, a wiki or tapped in allows for collaboration where as what the students were doing on blogmeister was simply discuss - but the tool didn't allow them to take things further.
I could definitely see using TappedIn - but for some reason, one I am not yet sure of, I see using it more in collaboration with another course than solely for English. Maybe I just view it as so large that my little English classroom doesn't feel like enough. Anyhow, regardless of my topic, I would mostly be concerned with first setting up the proper procedures. My students simply do not have experience in this type of thing for educational purposes - which means I don't really either. They would have to learn what is appropriate and what is not but I wouldn't want to completely bog them down with rules and procedures that they feel they have no freedom of expression. Definitely a set of expectations that all agree upon (teachers, students, admin, parents) would have to be in place before any of this can be used. Things are amazingly different when they become public - that is true in so many places besides the classroom but even more concerning inside the classroom.