Tech Tip

Write, Share, Revise, CompareJulie Thompson

MEDT 7477

What is Writeboard?

Writeboards are sharable, web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any

version, and easily compare changes. It can be used to write

solo or to collaborate with others. It can be accessed at www.writeboard.com

Writeboard makes it easy to...• Write without fear of losing or

overwriting a good idea• Compare different versions of a

document• Collaborate with colleagues on copy,

proposals, memos, etc.• Subscribe to documents via RSS and

be notified of changes• Keep your writings organized within a

backpack.

Step One: Signing Up

It’s Free!

Step Two: The Blank Writeboard Appears!

Step Three: Simple formatting codesWriteboard uses simple, easy-to-write codes to format your text.Type the codes in your text and you will see the results after clicking Save.To get this effect… Type this…Bold phrase *Bold phrase*

Italic phrase _Italic phrase_

•Bulleted list•Bulleted list

* Bulleted list* Bulleted list

1.Numbered list2.Numbered list

# Numbered list# Numbered list

Indented block bq. Indented block

Big header h1. Big header

Normal header h2. Normal header

Step Four:

A Tour For Using Writeboard!

Every writeboard has a URL so you can get to it from any computer at any time with a modern web browser.

Directly above the writeboard text you'll find tools to let you edit the writeboard, mark this version, export the writeboard as plain text or email the text of the writeboard to you or anyone else you'd like.

Writeboards have a title and can be as long or as short as you'd like.

You can invite as many people as you'd like to collaborate on a writeboard. Simply click the "Invite people" link, enter email addresses, and these people will get a link and password allowing then to view and edit the writeboard with you.

Every time you save a change to a writeboard, a new version of that writeboard is created in the sidebar. This allows you to go back to previous versions at anytime. The sidebar lists the version number , when it was last saved, and who saved it.

The dots indicate the relative change to the writeboard. The bigger the change from the previous version the bigger the dot. This allows you to quickly spot big (or small) changes without having to read each version.

Check the checkboxes in front of two versions and click the compare button to see what's new and different between the two versions.

When comparing two versions, anything that was removed from the previous version will be struck out and light grey. Anything new will be highlighted in green. You can show or hide this whenever you want.

Anyone with access to the writeboard can leave comments without editing the actual writeboard text. This allows you to collaborate, discuss changes before you make them, or just converse about the text without making changes.

Subscribe to the writeboard in RSS and be notified anytime anyone changes it.

Uses for Write Board in the Media Center

• Create a reading list for library users• Write book reviews for book club members• Collaborate on an essay with my classmates• Work with an editor on a book chapter• Collaborate with the journalism class on a press release• Work on copy for an advertisement for media center happenings• Draft and revise a blog post before publishing• Craft a letter for the local paper• Perfect an article before sending it for publication• Refine a book description• Draft the text for a presentation• Write a couple of paragraphs without having to use Word• Brainstorm ideas for book club meetings• Refine text before putting it into a page layout program• Write and revise a song, poem, or short story• I could...