Friday, January 14, 2011

Type with me :a quick educative online collaborative tool

Typewith.me is an online document collaboration tool which works in real time .It is a very important web2.0 tool for teachers and educators .it is free , easy , simple to use and above all doesn’t need any registration .It has a cool functionality that allows users to work on the same document and at the same time. This feature reminds us of google document which also offers several services like collaboration,sharing, and online editing .I have already covered how we can use google docs to its utmost in Google Docs in Education.
It is Thanks to Chris Pirillo along with his friend Jake Waner  that typewith.me has  seen the light .It becomes the best alternative to the famous Etherpad which has been shut down recently by Google.

Watch this tutorial I made




Now lets take a look at how we can use typewithme


First go www.typewith.me  or just write typewith.me in google search and you click on the first result .You will be directed to this page


typewithme


To start you need to click on that humongous button ; you will be directed to typewithme main page .Now you can start working on your online document .As you can see in the screenshot, the document is labeled Public but nobody can see it all unless you share its url with them.


typewithme


The toolbar which goes along the typewithme screen offers several important features.


teypewithme toolbar


Click on the menu option to display font, authorship,colors,and live numbers.
Click on import/export button to upload the docs you want to work on and you can  export your saved docs as well .Typewithme accepts several file format as you can see in the screenshot



typawith me page


Click on saved revision to see your previous saved documents


typewith me


The time slidebar button lets you go back and watch a recording of the document being under edition .The yellow stars refer to points that have been saved


time slidebar


Typewith.me makes it easy for you to share the url of your docs .You can also have up to 15 collaborators to work with you on your synchronized version. Each collaborator selects a color to indicate changes they have made .You can engage in a friendly chat with your collaborators using the chat window in the right side bar .There are two buttons under the sidebar allowing you to hide/show the side bar or switch to the full screen mode


typewithme sharing button


Applications of typewith.me in education


Here are some educative applications of typewith.me :
  • Students paired in groups can work on a single document with each one adding and editing is content
  • Teacher provides a neutral piece of writing for students to work on it online; they can add explanations and embed it in the document
  • Teacher can use it with students to get the whole class answers on a subject pertaining to their content-area study
  • It can be used to teach students how to write a piece of writing , a resume , a letter ect
  • Teachers can use it to collaborate between each other , setting on a meeting time/place.
  • It can also be used on a personal level for planning family events and celebrations.
That’s all about Typewith.me : Aquick Educative Collaborative Tool

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