Course: Exploring Web 2.0 - SWheeler

Course: Exploring Web 2.0 - SWheeler: "Blogs and Blogging
Wiki Webpages
Basic HTML
RSS - Real Simple Syndication
Blogrolls
Blog Searching
Tagging
Choosing Your Favorite Blogging Software
Social Bookmarks
Image Tools
Podcasting
Video and Slide Tools
Personal Learning Communities
Online Storage and Productivity Tools
Skype
Social Maps"

Online Productivity Tools

I tried the three online productivity products and found that Google Docs was my favorite due to its variety of content [calendars, docs, presentations, etc] and ease of use. I felt like it was very Office-like. Zoho Writer was my next choice and I found the editing and creating of new documents very easy and innovative on this site. Think Free was my least favorite and I will least likely return to it.

I really liked the fact that you can use tags to label your documents and find them in a variety of folders without having to save them in multiple locations.

I would not be willing to give up Microsoft Office for one of these tools YET – but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.

I also don’t think schools and businesses should abandon installed versions of these productivity tools for the online version I do think there is a possibility that these types of products will continue to improve and challenge the purchased programs to constantly improve to remain competitive.

At this point, I am still more comfortable using the installed productivity tools without regard to the cost and would choose them over the free tools but I do think there are some really wonderful aspects to consider for their future success.

Online Storage Sites

I see a great amount of value in these online storage sites and I will definitely use them in the future. What a great way to not only store and back up but to have access to your documents you may need when you are not on your own computer or your school server. You can actually sign in from any where [that has internet access] and have the ability to see and use documents you may need at that time.

I think I would give up my thumb drive to use these accounts. There is always that worry in the back of my mind that, “Oh! What if their internet access is down and I can’t sign in to the online storage site?” These kinds of things keep me up at night! How about you, Shawn?

I don’t think schools should abandon their own student and staff servers. I think this only because we would lose a lot of the control we have right now. Oh! As I write this I can’t believe I’m saying it! Do we NEED to control everything? Hmmmm

As always, there is concern when students are on the World Wide Web. I think there is always a need for teacher and parental supervision and guidance. This type of site is not all that bad in that the students are saving their own content online but there is always that worry of what if….