PrimaryPad for assessing groups of students

Categories: Coasts, Geography General, Writing and Assessment

I have used etherpad for some time now and was very disappointed that Google had bought it with the intention of closing it (mainly because it's a rival to Google Wave). However, since the reaction to that anouncement, Google have reneged and etherpad will continue in the short term, while several clones have sprouted up using the code for the site. One of my favourites is PrimaryPad. I like this because I am able to run a free account which gives me control over pads via passwords/names etc and allows me with a little bit of code to embed these within another place on the web. I'm using the pad which I have screenshot above, plus three more to do a little bit of assessment with my s3 class. I'll put these onto the edmodo that the class have been using, so that all of the evidence of how the students have fared is in the one place for my use and future use with the group. It's time to move on and I reckon we won't have the opportunity to do much in the way of past paper preparation for the upcoming NAB assessment in class, so I'm going to ask the students to work in assessment groups of 6 or 7 for homework. We'll probably prepare via a walkabout talkabout activity tomorrow to refresh the memory, as I'm sure Christmas and the snow will have erased any thoughts of a NAB :) The pad can be found at this location, but is password protected to avoid abuse from other visitors (the reason I haven't embedded it).