Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

by Marian Dent -
Number of replies: 4

Hi everyone, 

Like many teachers I'm forced into using Zoom for classes these days, and I want my students to work in small groups on drafting paragraphs.  But when I sent them to Zoom breakout rooms I can't see what they are doing and can't tell which groups need help.  It's an inefficient use of a teacher's time to visit groups that don't need help and perhaps miss ones that do.

Is there a tool on Moodle where groups can collaboratively draft a document and I can see what they are doing in real time or near real time, before they save their work?  Ideally would be something with a teacher view that can allow me to see several of the developing answers at the same time, or flip between them quickly.  (Colleagues have suggested Google Docs or tools on other learning management systems, but I would prefer something that works within Moodle. Colleagues have also suggesting the Wiki tool on Moodle but I can't see what a group is doing until they save their work.)

Thanks in advance for any help.

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In reply to Marian Dent

Re: Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

by Helen Foster -
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Hi Marian,

Unfortunately Moodle doesn't currently contain an easy to use tool for collaboratively drafting a document. I would go with your colleagues' suggestion of Google Docs.

In reply to Helen Foster

Re: Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

by Marian Dent -
Thanks Helen, I was afraid of that. I ended up using the Wiki and pre-setting up a page for each breakout group, then instructing students to save every few minutes, so I could check their work and come to their room and lead them in the right direction if I thought they needed help. Several did that, so it worked OK. The advantage is that it's available for every group to see after class.
Marian
Average of ratings:Useful (1)
In reply to Marian Dent

Re: Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

by Matt Bury -
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Hi Marian,
I've been doing similar activities with students. I came up with one solution, using Google Docs but it's independent of Moodle. Please see here: https://matbury.com/wordpress/?p=3771
There's a Moodle-Etherpad integration module here: https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_etherpadlite that may be of use to you. However, you need to set up Etherpad on your server or at least on the same top-level domain (TLD). Etherpad: https://etherpad.org/
There's also an integration with Collabora Office, i.e. the online version of LibreOffice (similar to Google Docs but free and open source & without the GDPR issues): https://moodle.org/plugins/mod_collabora Collabora Office: https://www.collaboraoffice.com/
I hope this helps!
Average of ratings:Useful (4)
In reply to Matt Bury

Re: Looking for live collaborative drafting tool

by Marian Dent -
Hi Matt, That's really helpful. Thanks!
Marian