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BackBoard - See What Sticks!
May 19, 2008

Throw it up...see what sticks. BackBoard works on that principle, only with electronic documents and user feedback. This new site from Increo Solutions lets you upload documents in a variety of standard formats (Office, PDF, OpenOffice) as well as images, links to websites, and plain text. The uploaded document is stored on BackBoard's servers and you are provided with a created URL that provides a small bit of (and I really hesitate to use this word) privacy by way of an obfuscated URL. Once the document is uploaded, the magic happens.

Oh...you were expecting smoke and mirrors? In this case magic simply refers to the sheer simplicity of a site that does one thing and does it really well. BackBoard takes your uploaded document and puts it out for comment. No editing, no remixing, no fancy bells and whistles. Just a nice, clean interface that invites users to peruse a document and leave comments. If that is what you are looking for, BackBoard is a great solution.

Where would this be useful? Schools working on a new mission statement or code of conduct could send out a BackBoard link via a newsletter and invite parent feedback. Or libraries could share plans for an upcoming event with a chance for teachers to sign up in the feedback area. No matter the use, BackBoard seems like a great way to spread the word and listen for responses.

Posted by Chris Harris on May 19, 2008 | Comments (0)