Realtime Collaboration

This week we found ourselves in need of a way to have all 11 of us collaborate at one time in real time. We ran across the site EtherPad

"EtherPad is the only web-based word processor that allows people to work together in really real-time."
You begin by creating a new pad (document). Then you can invite people via email or share the URL with students. Then the work begins. When changes are made to the document, they are instantly reflected on everyone's screen. Often times you have to either email drafts back and forth, use Google Docs (which take several seconds to see changes) or waste time writing and rewriting documents. EtherPad is a new and productive way to collaborate. The web site offers a free service. You can create your own pad (document) and share with up to 16 people, with some minimal security through a randomized URL. There are no accounts needed and all that you need to remember is the Pad URL. The site offers customized URL's and ideas of how to use it. We used it very successful this morning to write a vision. The downside is that when you export it, it does not export the colors. So if you want to see who contributed what you will need to take a screen shot. There are so many possibilities! It is worth checking out!