BP5_Crocodoc

The second Web 2.0 tool that I want to share is Crocodoc. This tool allows you to work collaboratively with others to highlight and mark up PDF's, word documents, images, and more. One of the main elements of my action research (AR) is focused on collaboration and so I wanted to pursue some tools that will help me in this area. My AR is looking at how a music teacher could work collaboratively with classroom teachers to help struggling readers who are a part of a response-to-intervention (RTI) model. Further, the music aspect of the connection taps into Gardner's multiple intelligences (MI). I am currently reviewing the literature dealing with RTI and MI and anything connected with collaboration. With this said, I wanted a place that I could store these PDF files, highlight, comment and share them with my critical friends. At last night's Wimba session, several individuals asked about whether or not Diigo offered this capability of linking to PDF's. Unfortunately, it seems that Diigo does not do this unless there is a URL connected with the file. However, Crocodoc will allow you to upload the document to their site and begin with the collaboration.

So if you would like to take advantage of this great tool, the first thing you should do is sign up for a free membership at this site: http://crocodoc.com/.

Then, you will be taken to a page that is entitled, "My Documents," where you can upload files and have quick access to them. Also, you have the capability of organizing them into folders. I have placed the four articles I read last week into a folder called W1 and have begun my reading collection for this week.

After you have your documents uploaded, then you can click on them and view them easily. I selected the following article for you to see. If you notice the toolbar at the top, I have the ability to comment, draw, add text, highlight, or strikeout text.

The greatest part of marking up the article or document is that everything is saved and can be viewed by anyone who is invited. So for me, I will more than likely read through my articles and highlight some of my findings and share those with my critical friends for them to respond.

When it comes to sharing the files, you are able to do this a number of three ways. First, you are able to receive a link that will take you directly to the article. Second, you can send them an email, obviously with the link attached. Third, you can get a code that allows you to embed the link, as well. Regardless of which you choose, all three are very simple to use.

Finally, if you desire to download the article from Crocodoc you have a few options here, too. You could download the original article in its PDF format, which would be the one you uploaded to begin with. However, you also have the option to download the marked-up version that includes all of the highlights and comments. The third option includes sending the annotated PDF over to Google Docs for more collaboration.

I am excited about how this will help with reviewing my literature for my action research project. I honestly believe this to be a tool that I will continue to use long after this program is finished because of its collaboration focus and how easy it is to use.