OMG my paper is teh suxors!!!!!

September 10, 2006 11:28 AM

Does anyone hear have experience working with and/or setting up a synchronous online component for a college writing center?

I'm working with our community college writing center to set up an online writing tutor program for evening hours. We don't have any money or expertise to build or buy software, and we're in the process of switching from one course management system (Blackboard) to another (Vista), with extremely painful results. As a consequence, we don't want to use the chat rooms in either of those programs just yet. (Plus, they suck, IMHO).

My suggestion was to set up accounts with the major IM services and have the tutors use these accounts through Trillian/Adium to answer simple questions. (These tutors would be working from home on their own computers). I argued that the process would be almost transparent for students who were accustomed to IM-ing. Students who weren't, or who needed a more extensive session with their essays, could use our email tutors or come in-person to the center during weekdays.

But the writing center director has his heart set on recreating the "physical writing center experience," which for him means a whiteboard program where students could upload their papers and see our edits in real time. I showed the group Writeboard, but they nixed it for being too confusing and having ads.

Has anyone had success with online writing centers in the past? What worked for you? What didn't? Is there any way I can accommodate my director's ideas with our financial/technological limitations?

posted by bibliowench to education (3 comments total)

If they found Writeboard to be too confusing, then there isn't much hope for finding anything simpler...
posted by JakeWalker at 11:31 AM on September 10, 2006

I have never used the collaborative features of Writely, but you might want to try it. It claims "real-time" collaboration.

Free, no ads that I am aware of. import/export word documents
posted by misterbrandt at 12:15 PM on September 10, 2006

I'd use Writely with IM. There are insanely few students out who aren't familiar with IM. The other option I'd suggest is using something like nopaste along with IM or even IRC. It's a thought, anyway.
posted by devilsbrigade at 3:40 PM on September 10, 2006