Twiddla is an online platform that bills itself as one of the easiest online collaborative tools in existence.  And, by many measures, Twiddla does meet its goal of maintaining a simple user interface.  Twiddla was launched in 2007.  A blog is maintained on the website, with updates to the tool.  

Some of the noteworthy features of Twiddla include:

• Users can collaborate and make changes to images, text, drawings, and even math equations.

• No special software or plug in installation required

• Works on both PC and MAC computers

• The EtherPad function gives all users complete access to the whiteboard, with no limitations

• Text-based chat and voice functions are enabled for additional forms of communication

• To save work as a PDF or media file, click on the Save button on the top right corner of the screen (this last function is only available to registered users)

http://www.twiddla.com/

Learning Activities

• Math: Participate in a math challenge with student teams at different sites; a panel of judges can evaluate all work posted to the Twiddla whiteboard and assign points accordingly.  Twiddla has the advantage of having many math symbols and geometric graphing options available.

• Foreign Languages/English as a Second Language (ESL): Students learning a new language can annotate text collaboratively, highlighting verb forms, tenses, modifiers, etc.  

• Visual Arts and Communication: Students can jointly critique a visual display or advertisement.  Principles of visual communication can be assessed, with students marking up images to show evidence of eye gaze, graphic misrepresentations, etc.

• Journalism: The EtherPad function within Twiddla allows all users to write, edit, and revise text-based documents in real time.  (Note: If EtherPad is not enabled, the Twiddla host needs to designate which users could have full access to the whiteboard.)  Journalism students can watch a live streamed event and using EtherPad can collaboratively write a news story.    

How to Use Twiddla

1. Type www.twiddla.com in your web browser

2. Users can elect to create a free account (or not).

3. Those users who do not wish to create an account still has access to all of Twiddla’s basic tier options (Free and paid tiers can be viewed at http://www.twiddla.com/pricing.aspx

4. On the home page, find the green button marked “Go” and click on it.

5. A whiteboard is launched within the browser.

6. The Twiddla host can now upload images, documents, etc.

7. A unique URL is also provided on the right hand of the screen. This URL can be shared with all collaborators to join in real time.  

8. To enable EtherPad (which allows all users to have full control of the whiteboard), click on the icon labeled EtherPad.

9. To enable voice to voice communication among users, click on the red icon labeled Audio. Speak into the computer’s microphone to ensure others can hear.

10. To begin real time text-based chat with all users, type inside the dialogue box that appears on the right side of the screen.

11. To save a snapshot of the whiteboard or a transcript of the chat, click on the “Save” icon which appears on the upper right hand corner of the whiteboard.   Only registered users are permitted to save their work as a PDF file or on Twiddla’s cloud.