There is no clearly accepted phrase or term that defines the use of software to support a group of people creating a common composition of text or other forms of expression. Groupware and the phrase "computer supported cooperative work" refer to a much larger range of activities including such examples as group decision making or online discussion or chat software as well as referring to writing groupware. This web page focuses on group writing with emphasis on real-time composition and will henceforth use the most economic of these expressions, writing groupware.

Writing groupware, e.g., software for a group that is writing a common document, consists of three distinct formats (Sharples et al., 1993): sequential, parallel and reciprocal. This should not be confused with email tutoring (Anderson, 2002), perhaps the most common form of computer network supported writing. With email tutoring or coaching, network software such as an email system is used to send email or files to another individual or instructor for comments who then sends it back to the original composer along with their advice and direction. In contrast, group writing involves a team composing the same document.

In sequential group writing, when one member of the group finishes one part or stage of the document, it is then sent to another person for the next part to be written (the next section or chapter is written) or the next stage of activities to take place (such as grammar checking). Such group activity could also include web sites where all members of the group know the site's password and all take turns adding links that extend and enhance a particular web page as well as the site's other web pages. This takes some advance organizing and communication so that two people do not both edit the same page, with the last to upload deleting the work of the first to upload that same page. The concept of sequential group web page editing has also taken a revolutionary step forward with the concept of a "Wiki" or "WikiWeb." Wiki is an alliterative shortcut to the term quickie. Specialized Wiki server software makes it possible for anyone to modify and  make changes to the web page on the Web server. The team's page's could be open to the entire Web or behind a password that only team member's have. Any web browser can be used.

With Wiki software, one does not see another person typing, but rather must know to periodically reload the page when more than one user is thinking about and making changes to a web page. To see and practice with a working example of such software, visit the Sandbox at the Meatball Wiki. Scroll to the bottom of the Sandbox page and click the link that says Edit the Text of This Page. In the typing box that appears, type in some changes, then scroll to the bottom of this page and click the link that says Save to upload your changes to the site. Your changes will appear. When you are ready for more advanced learning, take some of the other links that lead to other site pages. There is a wide body of work being done with the Wiki concept, and a web search using the term Wiki will lead to much more on this topic. See also: About wikiHow (building the world's largest how-to manual); The New Worlds Project (science fiction writing);and Writeboard.

In parallel group writing, a composition might be divided into multiple sections, and all members of the group or team are writing on their section at the same time in preparation for later assembly into a larger document. Though some specialized software has been written to support sequential and parallel group writing, software already developed for writing by individuals is quite adequate to support such effort. Software programs include such common titles as Microsoft Word, AppleWorks, Open Office, Microsoft Works or Google Docs but there are many others. Email can be used to send the pieces on to another person for the next step of the sequence or to one person to insert the different documents into one larger one and then send the collated work back to everyone who has been working in parallel for further review. Web site development also works well with parallel composition, assigning different members of the team to different web pages and then using links to pull the collection together in a useful way.

Reciprocal group writing requires a very different kind of software, software that is network aware itself, not just using the network to send something after it is created in a particular application. In this approach everyone is sitting at their own computer, seeing the real-time typing of others and all potentially typing on the same document at the same time. This might also mean that two or more people are sometimes working on the same sentence or paragraph at the same time. The typing of different participants can be identified by the use of different font types or different colors of text. The group might consists of two to five students or two or more students and an instructor.

The simplest and fastest applications for teachers and students to access for reciprocal use are live chat applications but these fall short of the full document view that collaborative composers often need. Chat applications are however, good places to start. These applications can be found in instant messenger programs from Google, AOL, Microsoft and others. They are also commonly found in course management software that is not live (Blackboard, WebCT Vista (WebCat at WCU), Moodle or live (Wimba, Elluminate, Centra and many others). Elluminate and Centra also provide special features for movement of participants into separate online rooms where chat other other forms of live collaboration can be encouraged.

There are better applications than chat but these require downloading applications for the desktop to install on the the local computer. One such application that has facilitated reciprocal group writing and editing is Daedelus. Can you find and send me reports of additional current software titles of this genre?

The work on groupware systems goes on, with new applications and approaches arriving with some regularity. Groupware goes beyond just shared writing to the use of many different tools for different media. If you watch even a few minutes of this Microsoft Research presentation on Supporting Informal Collaboration in Groupware, you'll gain an understanding of the challenges that researchers are facing and the goals they are seeking. A new class of application is appearing that does not have to be downloaded, running on the Web itself. Google Docs allows for reciprocal work so that those sharing the same Google Doc (e.g., word processing, spreadsheet or slideshow) will see the other person's typing and changes on their screen, but the delay across the network might be 5 to 15 seconds, much slower than most would like to have as we can think and type much faster than that. Two new exciting applications were announced in 2009 that will be improving the speed and the nature of group work and writing composition. Google Wave was created with the idea of revolutionizing group work, which has centered around email communication for the past decade. Google bought Etherpad in December of 2009, which will be folded into Google Wave. Give Etherpad a try. It provides a response time that is less than a second so that one observes another person typing in real time. Others can be invited to the same editing session, displaying their typing in different colors. It also provides a chat screen along the side that can provide ongoing meta-analysis of the shared composition.

The genre of software called groupware has a variety of other labels and subtopics. They include collaborative writing software which is part of a larger effort sometimes referred to as "computer supported cooperative or collaborative work" (see also Computer Supported Cooperative Work project and the ACM international Conferences on Computer Supported Cooperative Work). For further information on the topic writing and groupware, try a search of of Google on groupware and writing or related terms.

There is significant national and international work underway in using and developing software for real-time group writing. In looking at the educational literature in ERIC on the subject of group or collaborative writing, I am struck by the shortage of articles that focus on any group writing activity and experimentation in K-16 classrooms. This absence is all the more noticeable in the area of computer software that supports and facilitates group writing. Given the number of software titles available, there is clearly opportunity here for much more experiment and research by education students on this topic, especially in relationship to K-12 classrooms.
 

General articles about the idea of group writing

Elbow, Peter (March, 1999). Using the Collage for Collaborative Writing. Composition Studies/Freshman English News. 27,1, p7-14.
*Collage; *Writing Instruction; Cooperative Learning; Higher Education; Secondary Education; Writing Improvement
 Identifiers: Collaborative Writing
  Abstract: Discusses problems of collaborative writing. Introduces the "collage" as a teaching activity and lays out directions for its use. Suggests several methods for helping solo writers get comfortable collaborating with other writers and improve their solo writing. Attempts to make collaborative writing easier, more inviting, but more complex, and conflicted. (SC) ERIC #: EJ585406.

Hodges, Gabrielle Cliff (April 1, 2002). Learning through Collaborative Writing. Literacy and Language. 36:1 p4-10.
*Collaborative Writing; *Holistic Approach; *Story Telling; *Student Motivation; Elementary Education; Language Usage; Reading Instruction
Abstract: Examines the dynamics of reading, writing and telling stories. Argues that working collaboratively can motivate writers in ways which encourage them to redraft their work purposefully and explicitly in pursuit of particular creative effects. Exemplifies ways in which knowledge about language at word, sentence and whole text level can effectively be brought to bear as part of a holistic approach. (SG) ERIC #: EJ653515

Reed, Cynthia J.; McCarthy, Mary-Claire; Briley, Bonnie L. (December 1, 2002). Sharing Assumptions and Negotiating Boundaries: Coauthorship as a Tool for Teaching and Learning. College Teaching. 50,1, p22-26.
*Administrator Education; *Interpersonal Competence; *Leadership; Administrators; Collaborative Writing; Communication Skills; Cooperation; Higher Education; Writing (Composition)
 Abstract: Describes a tool for teaching and learning that helps develop needed communication and negotiation competencies in future administrators: coauthorship, or collaborative writing. Specifically, describes the use of coauthorship in two different educational leadership classes. (EV)ERIC #: EJ645477.

Schultz, Katherine (June, 1997). "Do You Want To Be in My Story?": Collaborative Writing in an Urban Elementary Classroom. Journal of Literacy Research v29 n2 p253-87 Jun 1997
*Cooperative Learning; *Student Attitudes; *Urban Education; *Writing Instruction; Case Studies; Elementary Education
 Identifiers: Collaborative Writing
Describes the arrangements for collaborative writing in an urban elementary classroom. Suggests a more complex view in contrast to typical descriptions of collaboration. Discusses a view that includes a range of ways for students to participate in writing together. Describes the ways students responded to opportunities for collaboration. (SG) ERIC #: EJ624674

Yancey, Kathleen Blake; Spooner, Michael (February, 1998). A Single Good Mind: Collaboration, Cooperation, and the Writing Self. College Composition and Communication. v49 n1 p45-62.
*Writing (Composition); *Writing Processes; Authors; Definitions; Higher Education; Text Structure
 Identifiers: Collaborative Writing
Uses multiple typefaces to express multiple voices that call into question the conventional wisdom about collaboration and collaborative writing. Presents vignettes. Discusses "indefinite definitions," multivalent texts/ambivalent authors, collaboration and community, collaboration and identity, and collaboration qua textuality. (RS) ERIC #: EJ559380
 

Computer specific articles

Whitehead, E. James, Jr. (October, 1998). Collaborative Authoring on the Web: Introducing WebDAV. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v25 n1 p25-29.
*Authoring Aids (Programming); *Cooperation; *World Wide Web; Access to Information; Hypermedia; Online Searching; Search Strategies; Standards
Identifiers: Collaborative Writing; Distributed Computing; Metadata; SGML; XML
 Abstract: Discusses the WebDAV Distributed Authoring Protocol which provides standards that allow easier collaborative authoring over the World Wide Web. Topics include Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), overwrite prevention, access control, searching, metadata, XML (Extensible Markup Language), and Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). (LRW) ERIC #: EJ577893

Non-ERIC References

Sun, Chengzheng (2003). Consistency Maintenance in Real-time Collaborative Editing Systems. This 1 hour 24 minute presentation at Microsoft Research was available on January 31, 2004 at http://murl.microsoft.com/videos/msr/msr2003/Sun_Consistency_OnDemand_100_100K_320x240Slides.htm

Lowry, Paul Benjamin; Albrecht, Conan C.; Lee, James D.; & Nunamaker, Jay F. Jr. (2002). Users experiences in collaborative writing using Collaboratus, an Internet-based collaborative work. Proceedings of the 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

Sharples, M., Goodlet, J. S., Beck, E. E., Wood, C. C., Easterbrook, S. M., and Plowman, L. (1993). Research issues in the study of computer supported collaborative writing. In: Sharples, M. (ed) - Computer Supported Collaborative Writing, Springer-Verlag.