Collaborative On-Line Tools 1

1. Collaborative On-Line Tools 1 EtherPad CollabEdit Google Doc forms

2. Etherpad • http://etherpad.com/ • Collaborative on-line text editing • Chat function, each collaborator color coded, happen in real time • No download, only one person needs to register (and email the URL) • Email and password • URL of doc stays up, so you can bookmark it and return • Created by a couple of ex-Google guys • Better than the Google docs version • So popular there was an 18 day waiting list (down to a few hours now)

3. Collabedit • http://collabedit.com/ • Same basic format as EtherPad but specific to source code editing • No download, only one person needs to sign up (and email the URL) • Email and password • Color-codes syntax of the code (html, css, java, perl, sql, lots more) • Doesn’t color code participants, slight lag in document changes

4. Google Docs • http://docs.google.com/ • On-line collaborative documents • Lots of tools here • Collaborate on Spreadsheets, Text documents, PowerPoints • Takes MS Office and Open Office docs • All collaborators need to be registered • Secure: you can make the URL public, or only invite collaborators

5. Google forms • Using Spreadsheets, you can create an on-line form that writes to an on-line database • Too cool for words • This is ordinarily a LOT of work • Click New button, open a new Spreadsheet, click Forms tab, click Create forms, begin building your form • Option to email form is problematic, either email the URL or embed it on a blog or website

6. Google Forms Screenshot Type title and intro text Type Question text and chose answer type