This type of assistance got me thinking about some web-based tools that allow people to surf together, no matter where they are, in order to communicate or lend support while visiting the same site. 
 
The first is The Awesome Highlighter. This tool is a great one to use with students as it allows you to highlight segments of text on a web page so you can "point" students to the important parts that you don't want them to miss. Once you're finished highlighting the text, Awesome Highlighter gives you a short URL to share that shows the highlights. Viewers can always get back to the original "un-highlighted" page. You can see an example of a page I've highlighted here. You can register at the site to be able to save pages you've highlighted (optional) as well as tag, organize, and leave notes on your saved pages. There's a Firefox add-on that you can install (also optional) to quickly highlight any page you're at without having to return to www.awesomehighlighter.com. 
 
Would you rather draw than highlight? Head on over to Draw Here and install the "bookmarklet" to be able to draw on any site. Signing up for an account is optional here as well, but again, you can save your drawings. Sharing a page with the Draw Here address first (such as "http://www.amazon.com/") will allow anyone to see any drawings that have been placed there, as well as add to the drawings. On popular pages (such as the Amazon example) you will probably find lots of contributors, so use this with caution with students. The drawings are on "layers" so other people's contributions can be "turned off," showing just yours. You'll need a compatible browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox are mentioned on the site) and some pages seemed to blocked from being drawn on (for instance, I couldn't draw on the New York Times), but the tool could be perfect to help someone afar with navigating a tricky site. 
 
One more site to share a web experience with others is Weblin Lite. You don't need to sign up for an account with the lite version. Simply head on over to the site and type in the web address that you want to share into the box provided. When you're taken to the site, you'll notice a small avatar-person at the bottom of the window. This is you! Double clicking on the person will let you change the look and name of your avatar as well as let you display actions like: waving, yawning, clap, dance, etc. Tell the person you're going to meet on the website the same address you now have in the URL bar, or have them go to Weblin Lite and enter the site there. Once you're both on the same page, you can use your avatars' speech bubbles to communicate to each other. Drag your avatar to another side of the page and it will walk over to that spot. This is helpful if you want to point out a section of the page by "standing under" it. When going to popular sites, such as Amazon, you'll find them already populated by other Weblins. 
 
When you think about it, many people are probably visiting the exact same site that you're visiting right now. We usually think about visiting websites as a solitary venture, and the other visitors are invisible to us. These tools will help remove that illusion and allow you to share the experience. 

Bob Sprankle has been a multi-age teacher in Wells, ME for 10 years and has served as the school's Technology Integrator for the past two years.

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