Framapad is definitely one of the cooler tools we have worked with so far. Although it is very much like Google Docs or sharing a Word document in Office 365, the highlighting feature to identify different users sets it apart. The best part, you don’t need to sign up to add to the pad.
Now to the challenge! It was a lot of fun collaborating on a story in this way. I am a creative writer, so this made it even more exciting. The most interesting part was seeing everyone’s take on where the story was going. Leaving a line unfinished turns your narrative into something completely different. There was a dark and spooky tone to part of what I wrote, but the next contributor turned it into an over-jumpy girl afraid of her own shadow. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the language and writing style since it was a bunch of different writers. This meant I re-read the story every time before adding to it. This is my favorite challenge so far.
I could use Framapad in my pre-programming class for non-majors. We often work collaboratively designing programs during class. It would be an excellent way to see all the contributors and also be able to assess individual strengths and weaknesses. I may even use it for the OER activities I am planning for the fall. This way, I can ensure all the students contributed, making sharing for editing much more manageable. I am excited to spend more learning what I can do with this tool.