Resource Name: TitanPad

URL: http://www.titanpad.com

Uses: Brainstorm and Organize, Construct Meaning, Write Together, Read and Respond

Teacher Time Investment: II IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

   Student Learning Curve: IIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII  

Description: Similar in use and function to the old Etherpad, TitanPad allows multiple users to type on one document. Sounds like a Google Doc, right? But I promise that there's more to it. Users' contributions appear in different colored highlights, so you can easily tell who added what text. Another neat feature is the Time Slider, which allows a viewer to replay (at any speed) the creation of the contents, seeing who added what text at what time. So it's easy for a teacher to detect, for example, that Johnny jumped into a group project at the very last minute after all the hard work was done.

I recommend that you do sign up for an account. It's free, lets you name your own pads, and keeps a list of all public pads you've created.

UPDATE: Through their blog, Titanpad has announced plans to shut down in 2017. I suggest you try either Etherpad or Sync.in.

See the intro video below for a nice summary of its features (this video calls it Primary Pad, but Titan Pad is the more reliable version of this application). 

A more formalized writing experience can be created with Protagonize, a site developed for the very purpose of collaborative story writing. Be sure to create your own groups for the classroom to keep students from "wandering" into other stories.

Sample Applications for the Classroom:

• Write collaborative add-on stories and poems.
• Take notes on classroom discussions.
• Create a running debate or list.

Notes and Caveats:

• If you're seeking a site that will enable students to simply write freely and creatively, then check out Write About, a site with hundreds of stunning ideas filtered by grade level, category or keyword. Check out the video below.

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