Thing #19 (The Web2.0 Experience)

I was very interested in "Writeboard" because I have spend a lot of time thinking about writing this summer, and how to integrate technology into my writing program. I signed up, which was the easiest sign up of any so far this summer, and got started. It was very easy to use, and very simple. Type in the space, save it and go.

What I like is that each time you edit, it saves the project as a new draft. Then you can click on 2 drafts and compare them. It shows what you changed, right next to where you changed it, so you can see exactly what is different.

I like would really like to use this with my students. Sometimes they get so carried away with revision that they actually make the paper worse! I think that if they could see what they changed, right next to what was there before, they could make a more informed decision about whether or not their revisions were any good. They can also peer edit, and then see what their peer changed. If they don't like that version, they can delete it, or just revert to an older draft.

I was quite pleased with Writeboard, even more than a wiki. This is infinitely easier to use and maneuver around, and I think that will be great when it comes to 4th graders using it. The only downside is that I cannot see all of the papers in one place, like I could if I were using a wiki. I might have to try both!