How to use iEtherpad

Normally during the EPSRI, two Scholars at a time act as observers in the classroom, taking field notes.  Two partner-Scholars who also observe that same class are back in the office, thinking, talking, and writing about what they have already observed.  We have developed a system in which the two classroom observers take field notes in a document that is shared online, so that both they and their partner-Scholars back in the office can see what's written.  This system presents both intellectual and technical challenges.  This post addresses the technical issues. The intellectual issues are addressed elsewhere.

We use a free online program called iEtherpad for field notes.  (Returning Scholars:  this is a new system!)  Basically, iEtherpad has a window for a shared, multi-author text document that authors edit together in real time.  There is also a chat window.  Features of this system include:

• The document window updates every half second, so you get to see what other people are typing right away.  
• Each observer's typing appears in a different color, so you can easily see who wrote what.
• Since each observer is normally observing a different person or group, you can easily read the observations of that particular person or group by reading only that color.
• The complete revision history of the document is automatically recorded without anyone having to do anything.  In a separate window, you can slide a slider along a timeline and see what the document looked like at a specific time.  You never lose anything that was ever written; even if someone erases text, it remains in the revision history.  
• Observers need not time-stamp their observations manually, because you can slide to any time you like to see what the document looked like at that time.  However, it will probably still be helpful to insert visible time stamps.
• iEtherpad is free, secure, and has no platform dependencies since it's all online.  (It's based on what Google Wave was going to be.)
• iEtherpad documents are exportable to various formats (pdf, doc, etc)
• There is essentially zero learning curve.  It's obvious how to use it and no one can accidentally screw it up or lose data.

In order to take field notes using iEtherpad, the owner of the appropriate document will invite you by email to access the document.  Access is by invitation only.  There will be a separate document for each day of each class.  

At the beginning of the document, write the name of the observer, the table you're observing, the names of all the people at the table, and who's wearing the microphone, if anyone.  For example: "Sam observing Table 3: Joe, Helen, Mike, Sylvia, Shawn wearing the microphone"

When something interesting happens, such that you will want to look at the video of that later, flag it by typing the word "flag" and a phrase indicating the issue that got your attention.  For example: "flag - inventing a new representation" or "flag, rogerian discourse" or "flag: gesture."  This will make it easy to find later.

If there are two observers observing different tables, each person should keep all their field notes together separate from the other person's notes, as long as the participants are working in small groups and not as whole class.  When the class shifts to whole-class discussion or lecture mode, and both observers are observing the same thing, both should skip down to the bottom of the two sets of small group activity notes and intersperse their comments so that they appear more or less in chronological order. At the beginning of each shift between whole class and small group activity, one or both observers should type in a manual time stamp and the phrase "small group" or "whole class."

There is a chat window, also.  Chats are saved as part of the pad.  In a strange twist, chat is the slowest way to say what you have to say, because it isn't sent until you hit return.  Everything else, the other observers see in half a second.  We are still thinking about the question of what to say in the chat vs. in the document.