Resource Number 13

URL http://typewith.me Keywords collaboration, editable, shared resources

Typewithme
Category IV Collaboration Tools Wikis Rationale

Distant collaboration and sharing of ideas has become an imperative need in the modern word and for work and education. Some of the simplest online tools that allow this come in a document sharing format. This involves creating a document online and then sharing it with multiple online users who can add or edit the content synchronously with ability to see the changes (each users addition is highlighted in a different colour) and finally store it in the cloud for immediate access and future use. Description Typewithme is a very user-friendly document sharing tool which requires little technical expertise and offers ease of access, since there is no registration process to go through. Once the user is connected to http://typewith.me, a new document can be created immediately, as shown on the right: Typewithme features a basic word processing tool, on top of the text window and various editing, exporting and saving options on the top bar. Sharing the document is very easy through the sidebar: a unique URL is created to sent to contributors via e-mail or instant messaging or by using the inbuilt e-mail form if you so wish. On the sidebar there is also a chat window, for further synchronous communication. One of its most useful features is that it highlights the content added by each separate user, assigning a different colour to each contributor. In this way, one can view what has been contributed and by whom at a glance, which facilitates pinpointing necessary changes in content and avoiding repetition, while working on the document synchronously. Resources required All that is needed is a basic functional Internet connection. This tool is very user-friendly and suitable for less experienced technology users. Obligatory resources Desktop computer or laptop Internet connection (not necessarily broadband) Active e-mail account Cost Completely free Setup and Configuration Minimal action is required, as demonstrated in the Description section. After clicking on Create a New Document, all that is needed is typing a name for each contributor in the box provided on the sidebar. This step is not necessary if you have used Typewithme before, since it automatically saves the name you have used in your previous documents. Styling There are the options of hiding the sidebar and viewing the text in Full Window mode, both of which provide more screen space for the actual text and are accessible by clicking on the corresponding buttons at the bottom, righthand corner of the screen. Basic text format options are accessible through the word processing tool, but there are no font options offered. By clicking on the Options tab on the top bar, automatic line numbering and authorship colours may be deactivated, if so preferred. Finally, each user may choose the colour their content will be highlighted in from a limited selection of eight colours.

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The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Navigation and operation There are four tabs on top bar of a Typewithme document, available to all contributors: Options: This has been covered in the Description section. It should be added that it also offers a choice of two fonts. Import / Export: This enables importing full documents in a variety of formats from the the hard disk into Typewithme, for sharing or editing purposes. It also allows exporting the created document in a slightly different and larger variety of formats. The document is saved on the users hard disk. Saved Revisions: Through this feature all saved versions of the document can be viewed, a previous version can be restored if necessary or desirable and each version can be assigned a different name. Time Slider: This innovative, dynamic feature records all the changes made to the document along a time line, on the top of the screen. By clicking on the Play button next to it, one can watch the document evolve as if in a short video clip. Various options are offered on the sidebar, enabling the separate editing, sharing and downloading of each individual saved version of the document at any given point along the time line. Apart from being a valuable recording tool, this makes working on Typewithme much more versatile and flexible.

Implementation methodology This tool can be used for sharing and editing content in a variety of education contexts. A teacher may create a Typewithme document and share it with learners, who can add to it or edit it. The learners themselves can create their own documents and share them with classmates and eventually their teacher. Finally, teachers can collaborate with each other in producing written content for various purposes. Teaching/Learning ideas: Here are some ideas on what it could be used for in a distant or blended leaning context: brainstorming activities collaborative story writing editing and providing feedback to written assignments collaborative work on a reading text, using the chat feature to negotiate content before recording it on the document itself. project work, as a drafting platform other task-based learning activities note-taking during a plenary speaking activity, in which one or all of the contributors can add to the minutes practising negotiation of meaning in a written context generally, e.g. agreeing on a timetable In all the above situations the time line feature can be used to record the stages of the work in progress and provide valuable data for further analysis. 2
The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Example of implementation Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Writing collaborative stories and practicing past tenses using Typewithme format Age group: Primary school students (aged 11 to 14) Number of students involved: 30 Duration: 90 minutes + work on the Introduction: T presents the SS the aim of today lesson: To help SS to move past passive learning to active learning, to find better ways of engaging themselves in the learning process and practice use of past tenses. Lead-in: T introduces the class to the format of Typewithme and explains what the usage might be. Then he presents the aim of todays lesson to tell a story using past tenses. Focus: SS will work together divided into groups or pairs to compose their task. In groups the SS are asked to choose 10 or 15 verbs and to use the past tense forms of these verbs into a short meaningful composition. Each SS will contribute to the creation of the story by adding his or her text using Typewithme. The final version of the group's composition is sent to the T.

Follow up: The composition can be viewed online. All the updates can be viewed marked in a different colour. The next screenshot shows how Typewithme can be used for commenting on a piece of written work:

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The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

By following this link, you can view a screencast of the timeslider function on Typewithme which shows how the various changes were made to this written work submitted by a student. Other issues Typewithme is a very safe online environment, suitable for use with young learners. Useful tips Before using Typewithme for the first time, it might be useful to watch one of these excellent tutorials: http://vimeo.com/10203828 http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5794629/type_with_me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TSFNhtwyz8 .

This Factsheet is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 2.0 License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

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The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.