Writeboard
Writeboards are sharable, web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version, and easily compare changes. (37 signals, 2011)
Looking through the site Writeboard I felt it was a great way to collaborate if you are experienced with computers. This program is not the best for the everyday user of a computer or the teacher that does not have lots of experience with computers and their language. When working on the site you have to use a formatting guide that uses symbols that determine what a document will look like when saved.
Looking through the site Writeboard I felt it was a great way to collaborate if you are experienced with computers. This program is not the best for the everyday user of a computer or the teacher that does not have lots of experience with computers and their language. When working on the site you have to use a formatting guide that uses symbols that determine what a document will look like when saved.
When I was reading reviews on the collaboration site I thought it would be a great site and easy to use, this did not seem to be true when I went to use the site. The site itself lays out the steps in creating a document that make it look like it would be an easy five steps.
1. Sign up by giving you Writeboard a name, assigning it a password, giving your email address, and agreeing to their terms.
2. Write something on your Writeboard, which you can access from any computer with Internet connection.
3. Share your document with those you want to collaborate with. You do this by simply entering someone’s email so they receive an email invitation with a like to the Writeboard.
4. Revise it. Every time you save an edit it is saved as a new version in the sidebar so that you can always look back the past versions. This feature prevents you from deleting something, overwriting something, or losing a better version of the document. (37 signals, 2011)
5. Compare it. This step allows you to select two versions on the Writeboard to compare, the items removed from the document appear gray and slashed out and the new items appear highlighted in green.
The creators of the Writeboard, 37 Signals, recommend using Backpack to keep all your Writeboard documents organized. Backpack is not a free site to use and without this you have to remember each link to each Writeboard you create.
The review page I looked at, AppApeal, pointed out the site is free. The features the AppAppeal liked were the abilities to see previous versions, compare versions, invite colleges by email, and see time stamps and authors of previous versions. This review also points of that you can create and participate in multiple Writeboards. (AppAppeal, 2011)
1. Sign up by giving you Writeboard a name, assigning it a password, giving your email address, and agreeing to their terms.
2. Write something on your Writeboard, which you can access from any computer with Internet connection.
3. Share your document with those you want to collaborate with. You do this by simply entering someone’s email so they receive an email invitation with a like to the Writeboard.
4. Revise it. Every time you save an edit it is saved as a new version in the sidebar so that you can always look back the past versions. This feature prevents you from deleting something, overwriting something, or losing a better version of the document. (37 signals, 2011)
5. Compare it. This step allows you to select two versions on the Writeboard to compare, the items removed from the document appear gray and slashed out and the new items appear highlighted in green.
The creators of the Writeboard, 37 Signals, recommend using Backpack to keep all your Writeboard documents organized. Backpack is not a free site to use and without this you have to remember each link to each Writeboard you create.
The review page I looked at, AppApeal, pointed out the site is free. The features the AppAppeal liked were the abilities to see previous versions, compare versions, invite colleges by email, and see time stamps and authors of previous versions. This review also points of that you can create and participate in multiple Writeboards. (AppAppeal, 2011)
Pros
- Easy set up
- Easy to add collaborators
- It is free
- Ability to compare versions of document
- Ability to go back to past versions
- Time stamps on edits
- You can export through email or text file
Cons
- Separate links for each Writeboard you create
- Does not work on Internet Explorer 6.x.
- Inability to import documents
- Use of symbols to get the text to appear as wanted
Resources
37 Signals. (2011). Collaborative writing software online with writeboard. write, share, revise, compare.. Retrieved from http://writeboard.com/
AppAppeal. (2011). Writeboard review. Retrieved from http://www.appappeal.com/app/writeboard/
AppAppeal. (2011). Writeboard review. Retrieved from http://www.appappeal.com/app/writeboard/