Primary Pad
If you want an etherpad solution for your education sector please see http://primarypad.com/features/professional/ . Primary Pad is provided by @primarypad – part of @primaryt (Primary Technology) and is maintained by @johnmclear
Q. Will the design be changing? A. Slightly!
Q. How can I use Primary Pad with my class? A. See: http://ideastoinspire.co.uk/primarypad.htm & http://vimeo.com/8454210
Q. Can I embed into my website/blog/VLE? A. Yes, just embed the pad.
Q. Any plans for security? privacy? Security and privacy are available with the pro account. A. You can password secure a pad by clicking Security on your pad.
Q. Are there any Ads? A. No.
Q. How many folk can use this at once? On basic pads, 4 people. A. Our highest user count was 90 users simultaniously padding. The limitation is dependent on the cpu/ram of the server we use to host primary pad. We now have a large number of servers.
Q. Can I paint/draw or share an interactive white board type screen? A. Yep, you can use Primary Paint, click the paint brush in the toolbar. It will automatically take you to the correct painting pad and transfer your name over.
Q. What is a Pro Account? A. Creating a Pro Account creates a new Private Team Site (a collection of Pads linked to a URL e.g. MyPads.primarypad.com).
Q. How do I share a Private Pad? A. First, create a pro account, then create new pad and open/edit the pad. Then click Security and change Pad Access to Public, then add a password and click save. Then share the url with your colleagues, along with the password. They will be prompted to enter a password and will then have full access to the pad. Simply repeat the process for each Pad you would like to share
Q. My School has less than 1MB internet connectivity. Will primary pad work with a full class set of laptops? A. Probably not, Primary pad requires constant internet connectivity.
Q. Can I have whatever web address I like? A. Yes, simply go to http://primarypad.com/myownurl (change myownurl for any word/s you would like) If the pad doesn’t exist, then you will be asked if you wish to create one. This works on Pro accounts too. You could create www.primarypad.com/fundraisingideas to make a pad all about raising money for example. Note – you don’t need the www part (ever) with primary pad) so http://primarypad.com/fundraisingideas would work too :)
Q. Can I have multiple Private Team Sites (each containing multiple Pads) linked to one user account / email address? A. Yes, simply complete the signup process for your first account as normal e.g. Team Site Name: myFirstPad.primarypad.com., Name: Bob Bobson, Email: bob@gmail.com, then logout and go back to http://primarypad.com. Click ‘Signup for Pro Account’ again, and enter the same name and email address but different Team Site Name e.g. ‘mySecondPad.primarypad.com’
Q. Can I have multiple accounts use one subdomain? IE multiple teachers accessing myschool.primarypad.com A. Yes, but you have to setup the pads using the master account then use the password secure option
Q. Can I hide my email address when using Primary Pad? A. No. If you need individual email addresses for teachers in your school we recommend using Primary Email. If enough people request this change I can remove the email address from the edit page.
Q. Can I change my username? A. Please contact the Primary Pad team if you wish for us to change your username for you. Or alternatively register for a new account.
Q. Do pupils need individual accounts to access a password secured pad? A. No
Q. How easy would it be to get this set up for an FE College/Local Authoirity? A. See http://primarypad.com/features/professional/
Q. I’m not in the UK, can I still use Primary Pad? A. Basic pads, yep.. Premium options are available for schools worldwide.
Q. How do I change my password? A. Click Recover lost password on the login page