Introduction
Five of you are working on a writing project. You are all in different locations but you all have access to networked computers or devices. How do you collaborate? One of the easiest solutions is etherpad. Etherpad:
- offers one-click set-up (with no registration or accounts to manage)
- allows multiple authors to collaborate simultaneously or at different times on a single document (great for all writing tasks, from brainstorming to final reports)
- refreshes in real-time ( no time-lag in seeing additions or edits)
- saves every single key stroke (you can thus retrieve any version of your document)
- identifies each author by color
- embeds active URLs
- allows the import of text and the export of your completed document in multiple formats
- creates a dynamic "movie" of your brainstorming, writing, revising and editing sessions which you can integrate into portfolios (i.e. your final RING project portfolio), use to illustrate your collaborative process, etc.
Initiate Etherpad
- go to etherpad.com
- click on Create Public Pad
- immediately bookmark your pad, and send the URL to your collaborators
- start composing