At the KySTE conference I attended last week I was introduced to TypeWithMe by Jeremy Renner during his session on his 10 Favorite Web Tools. During the conference we used TypeWithMe to introduce ourselves to him and each other. I had not seen this website before. It reminded me of TodaysMeet, only better options.
What I like about TypeWithMe is that the typing is real time. As you type in the text, it will appear on the screen...from anyone. Currently it is limited to 16 participants in the room at the same time, but for AP classes, this would be a useful tool. If necessary you could have two rooms for larger classes. Every person in the room can also choose a color (8 choices) that will be the background of their text. It is really useful in seeing who is typing and when.
Here is a sample page so you can see it in action.
You can easily pre-enter text for people when they come in the room (Questions, Links, Quotes, etc) that will help get the typing started. There is also a chat window to the bottom right where you could have a whole other conversation. It allows you to import a Word, PDF, or RTF file as well. You can also export what you are typing to Word, PDF, HTML, Plain Text, and others. would be great for posting to the web so students could view the conversation later. The final option is a Time Slider which will allow you to scan through the conversation at the time it was occurring. A great way to log your conversation as well, especially if you are looking for something that was said at a certain time.
So how could you use this in your classroom?
1.) Provided to me by Russ Goerend - Have students type one sentence at a time to create a story.
2.) Use as a supplment to lecture for students to ask questions
3.) Have students use during a movie to ask questions or share their thoughts about it
4.) While reading novels/books in class let students type questions or discuss the book live while reading so they don't forget as they read
5.) Use during a guest speaker to remember responses as well as questions and students thoughts.
What ideas do you have?
