Collaborative Writing with Electronic Communication
June 23, 1999
Revised May 3, 2001
Darrell Butler, with help from
Aaron Ashley, Jon Houck, Marie Weakland, Lori Whisler, Bill Bauer, Kay Hodson-
Cartlon, Bill Magrath, Peter McAllister, Mike O’Hara, Susan Tancock, & Jay Thompson
Collaborative writing refers sharing written documents during the process of
writing. One person may share a draft of a paper with one or two others with the goal of
getting suggestions for improvement. The reviewer may add comments and suggestions
as margin notes, but does not edit wording, syntax, or organization. In other cases, two
or more people may wish to co-write a document. In these cases, the co-authors do edit
wording, syntax, and/or organization. We use the concept of collaborative writing with
electronic communication to refer to cases in which documents are shared using email or
other electronic media rather than paper, disks, or other physical media.
Rich Text Format
One of the easiest ways to electronically collaborate is to save word processed
files in .rtf (rich text) format and email them as attachments to members in the group.
Nearly every word processor on both pcs and macs can open rich text format files. One
nice feature of this approach is that members of the group do not have to get together and
do not have to work at the same time.
Built-in Collaborative Tools
Many word processors (e.g., Word or WordPerfect) have built in collaborative
tools. However, to use these tools creates some complications. First, everyone in the
group must use the same word processor. One person cannot use Works and another
WordPerfect. If you are interested, we have experimented with some using Word and
have provided a brief summary below
Authoring:
Open MS Word 97/2000 (pc) or MS Word 98 (Mac).
1. Set your name and initials for authoring and/or reviewing
Tools Options User Information
(This can be done in student computer labs, but you may want to delete it
when you are done.)
2. Open or write a document then save it.
3. Send the document to reviewer(s), editor(s), and/or co-author(s).
File Send to Mail Recipient. Fill in the email address(es) and send
(Alternatively you can open your email program, attach the saved
document, and email it to document to reviewer(s), editor(s), and/or co-
author(s).) Some email systems may have trouble unless you zip the
document first.
Reviewing: Commenting on a Document, but not changing it
1. Set your name and initials for authoring and/or reviewing
Tools Options User Information
(This can be done in student computer labs, but you may want to delete it
when you are done.)
2. When you open a collaborator’s document in Word, the reviewer’s toolbar
should automatically open. If it doesn’t, then
[View - Toolbars - Reviewing ] Reveals a 14 button toolbar
3. Now you can comment on the document. The left button on the reviewer
toolbar is an insert comment button. Highlight an area in the document to
comment on, then click the comment button. (A comment box will open…you
can type, add sound files, graphics, …Test comment here. When you mail the
document back to the author, the text that was commented on appears highlighted.
If you drag a mouse over the highlighted text, a pop-up window will display the
text comment. To see graphics, listen to sound files, etc, you must edit the
comment box (click the second button on the reviewer tool bar). You click on
speaker to hear wav files. Movies and other files can be put here, but they may
not be viewable by everyone who receives the document.
4. When you’re done, save document (optional), then mail it back to the author.
File Send to Mail Recipient, then fill in the email address and send.
(Alternatively you can open your email program, attach the saved document, and
email it to document to reviewer(s), editor(s), and/or co-author(s).)
Editing: Changing the text
1. Set your name and initials for authoring and/or reviewing
Tools Options User Information
(This can be done in student computer labs, but you may want to delete it
when you are done.)
2. Edit. Just type, delete, and make other changes.
3. When you’re done, save document (optional), then mail it back to the author.
File Send to Mail Recipient, then fill in the email address and send.
(Alternatively you can open your email program, attach the saved document, and
email it to document to reviewer(s), editor(s), and/or co-author(s).)
Tracking Changes and Comments
When the doc comes back from reviewers, co-authors, or editors, changes
will appear in a different color. Use the “next” button on the reviewer toolbar to
advance to each of the changes and either select “accept” or “reject” from the
reviewer toolbar.
Save your work.
Then you can start the process over again.
Netmeeting
Unlike the approaches above, to use this approach, the co-writers must be
available at the same time and they must all use pcs (no macs). Netmeeting is like a chat
room with extra capabilities. One of those capabilities is to allow those in the netmeeting
to have access to software on the computer such as the wordprocessor. The word
processor and document will appear on everyone’s monitor who is in the Netmeeting.
Everyone can work on it – although they must work one-at-a-time. If the computers have
microphones and speakers, you can talk while you work. If not, you can still use the chat
room to communicate.