Scratchpost is a web-based single-page app using Angular and Firebase. It is designed to supplement lectures and discussions by allowing multiple participants to contribute answers/content to individual sections of a single, projected window.
Concept: Conor Moreton (2009)
Original design: Stephanie Zolayvar (2009)
ver 2.0: scratchpost.herokuapp.com/index.html
2.0 design: Conor Moreton, Matthew McClure, Nathan O'Brien (Jan 2015), with assistance from CodeFellows
3.0 design: Conor Moreton (May 2015)
Workflow:
- The SESSION LEADER initiates a session by creating a session code.
- A PARTICIPANT joins the session by entering the chosen code and a unique username.
- For each participant, a window containing that participant's data appears on the session leader's page.
- The session leader enters a question or prompt, which then appears on each participant's page.
- The participants enter their responses, which then appear in their respective windows on the main page.
- The session leader then interacts with those answers as part of the broader lecture or discussion.
Current features:
- Participant windows auto-resize based upon the number of participants and the size of the browser window
- Participant windows may be deleted or edited by the session leader
- A given participant window may be zoomed by the session leader
- Participant responses can be fully anonymous using the "hide names" feature (participant windows reshuffle position automatically with each new question)
- Participants can be limited to a single response, or allowed infinite resubmissions (e.g. quiz response vs. continual feedback during a lecture)
- Participants' answers can be hidden either during or after submission (e.g. if an instructor wants to reveal all answers at once rather than letting the stragglers look at/use the first responses to be submitted)
Future features:
- Animations connected to participant window appearances, deletions, and zoom
- Draggable participant windows, such that responses may be compared side-by-side
- Toggle in-line formatting (each answer on its own line) rather than square-ish windows (for long, linear responses)
- PDF printout of current state at any time (current prompt, and a list of {user: response} pairs) to "save" data