[bksvol-discuss] Re: Collaborative Editing System
- From: "Pavi Mehta" <pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:10:18 -0700
Hi All,
Thank you to all who checked out the Writeboard link, and offered edits,
comments and suggestions!
It's clear that there are several things to be worked out before this process
works smoothly and efficiently, but I do want to thank Dianna for taking the
initiative that she did -- it kick-started the process for me, and I am
optimistic overall about the collaboration effort.
* Robert: The wiki is a good idea, and one that we may set in place
eventually. Writeboard has a relatively simple interface and seemed like a good
place to "pilot" collaborative work.
* Mike: Thanks for the feedback on Writeboard. Glad you found it easy to
use. Two of our staff members were kind enough to test it out for accessibility
before I sent out the link.
* Sue and Susan: To clarify - there is no intention to rewrite the
volunteer manual from scratch. But we would like it to be more comprehensive
and have it include a few easy-to-skim-through checklists. The volunteer lists
provide daily expertise in an informal way. The idea behind this collaboration
was to capture and compile your collective expertise in a more systematic way.
Final editing of the manual will be done by staff to ensure a consistent and
professional tone.
* E: Great to hear you have a compilation of frequently asked questions,
Dianna and I have been maintaining similar lists. If you are open to the idea
perhaps we could pool or compilations and create a Master List (maybe on
Writeboard itself) to work with. The Q & A format you suggest is a good idea,
and we are definitely thinking along those lines for the new version of the
manual.
* Julia: Thanks for your feedback on the checklist (smile) Confusing is
definitely not what we were going for, but it is a start and we will keep
working to make it better!
Some of you have already sent in questions that you would like to see answered
in the new version of the manual, if others have identified gaps that need
filling do direct them my way.
It may seem like a hodgepodge effort in the beginning but I do think that there
is 'a method in the madness' and that the results of a collective process in
this case will be far richer than anything produced by an individual.
All good things,
Pavi Mehta
Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare
Benetech
480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
Phone: +1 650 644-3459
pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx
www.benetech.org
The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
A Nonprofit Organization
-----Original Message-----
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Robert Riddle
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 3:16 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Collaborative Editing System
How about creating a bookshare wiki? That might be easier.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pavi Mehta" <pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:02 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Collaborative Editing System
>
> Hi All,
>
> Recently I've been thinking a lot about how we can tap into the collective
> expertise of this community in a more systematic way -- particularly as we
> work on improving and adding to the current Scanning & Validation Manual.
> I thought it would be interesting to pilot a collaborative editing effort
> with those interested to see what we could come up with.
>
> Serendipitously, Dianna Messina, whom many of you know took the initiative
> to draft a Validation Checklist (thank you Dianna!)- a document that can
> eventually be used by volunteers for quick reference before they make a
> submission.
>
> I thought it would be fun to open it up now to interested volunteers to
> add their comments and edits before Bookshare finalizes it. I've posted
> the document online on a site called Writeboard which provides a platform
> for collaborative editing online. It saves separate versions of the
> document with each successive set of edits, making it easier to sort
> through than wading through the discussion list.
>
> Those interested in taking a look, and participating in this "pilot
> project" can open the document by clicking on the following link and
> entering the password: globalreplace
> http://123.writeboard.com/734e17d5ff86ab954/login
>
> In order to view the document in its proper format please click on the
> "Edit this document" button on the upper left corner.
>
> Edits can be made directly in the document.
> If you have comments please add them in at the end of the document along
> with your name.
> You are given the choice to either save your edits as a new version, or if
> they are minor edits you can save them in the existing version, you can
> also choose to cancel.
> Remember to logout when you are done.
>
> It's not the perfect collaboration tool on some counts but it seemed to be
> one of the more accessible ones available. (I ran it by our support team
> who took a quick look and thought it could work). If it does work then we
> can plan on wrapping up other sections of the manual in this fashion. If
> it turns out to be non-accessible and more of a hassle than a help I will
> definitely look for a different system. Either way I am excited to see
> what emerges!
>
> As usual feel free to let me know if you have any questions.
>
> All good things,
>
> Pavi Mehta
> Volunteer Coordinator, Bookshare
>
> Benetech
> 480 S. California Ave., Suite 201
> Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609 USA
> Phone: +1 650 644-3459
>
> pavim@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> www.benetech.org
>
> The Benetech Initiative - Technology Serving Humanity
> A Nonprofit Organization
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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