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First Class -

How to use FC for Peer & Collaborative Editing

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First Class is an email server, a file server, a conference server, a chat server and a web site host. It is also a dynamic tool for peer review and collaborative editing.  Here are some how-to's:

  1. Have your FC administrator create a conference for your class - make sure that all students are in the conference as well as you - name it YourClass (eg. English 6-Z)
  2. Test the conference by having students an email message, such as Hello, to the conference.
  3. Make sure that your students have the following skills in place:
    1. Create a document in Word or AW
    2. Select-All and copy the text of the document
    3. Open First Class - New message
    4. Enter a subject into the subject field
    5. Enter the following into the TO: field: YourClass... (and select the conference from the pop up list)
    6. Paste the contents of the document into the First Class message window.
    7. Practice with a "dummy text" - highly recommended!

A student FC window should look like this:

Students should:

  1. Send the messages/essays to the conference
  2. Access the conference and open a message containing the work of another student (best usually to prearrange this!!)
  3. Use the Edit-Select All - Copy combination to copy the full text
  4. Open a reply to the Conference (copy to the teacher if you want to check on peer editing more easily)
  5. Use the font/color,size formatting tools to annotate/edit the text.
  6. Send the message.

An edited text might look like this:

Note:  This can be accomplished as easily in Word, using the Comment tools, but not all student will have access to Word. First Class evens the playing ground, so to speak.  In fact, editors can add voice comments as well as colorful annotations - but that is another story. 

If you would like to know how to create screen captures like this, contact Least Tern.

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Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain 1/27/04