As we update our school plan this year, I want to encourage more staff input. I’d also like to model technology use by doing this electronically. Should I send the plan in an Email attachment and ask everyone to make comments and return the file?
You could use an Email attachment to elicit comments, but you’ll then need to review each individual file and compile the suggestions before you start editing. A more efficient approach would be to use a wiki, a Web application that allows co-authoring of documents.
There are several free and low-cost wiki hosting sites, as is evident by entering “wiki hosting” on Google. Although wikis facilitate co-authoring, most can also be password protected to limit access (and editing capabilities) to just those people who have the password. Visit a few hosting sites to see the different capabilities before setting up your wiki. For a lengthy plan it’s probably best to create a master Table of Contents page and then link to separate pages for each plan section.
Post the text of the current plan and invite staff to add their comments and suggestions right on each page. Now you can make your edits without having to review multiple documents. When you’re done, delete the comments and the document is ready to be pasted into a word processing file.
Next Tip: Is It Time for a CIO?
