Anna Piepmeyer (MAPH ’07) is the Ambassador of Awesomeness for the new peer networking site, Dweeber (think of her as the equivalent to Tom of MySpace; if you join the site, she is automatically your friend). This site, however, distances itself from other peer networking sites, sites that usually serve as distractions to things like school work by actually serving to specifically help students with their homework and school assignments. Catering most predominantly to primary and secondary school age groups (though I can imagine this being helpful even in MAPH situations, especially in trying to figure out Core material!), the site lets its users see what assignments their friends are doing so that they can work on assignments together, ask each other questions, post helpful web links, give directions, etc.
Also unlike other networking sites, Dweeber allows its users to create profiles to help them understand how they learn best and then use this information to work with others in more productive ways. Dweeber not only allows students to help one another with homework assignments, but it also rewards its users for being helpful with a customized point reward system based on “Thank You” notes from other users. With these points, users can get discounts on items from the site’s sponsors or claim other sorts of “swag.” Hooray for rewarding manners!
The site launched a few months ago and is up and running in its Beta version. Anna manages the marketing and the creative direction of the site, working with communities of testers and keeping the site, well, awesome. I’ve played around with the site a I urge you, your children, and/or your students to check it out.
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