Web Office Applications

OK. So, my learning curve really went through the roof with this week's assignment, but I had a great time working with the Zoho Applications. That's probably because there is so much potential for collaboration that it's pretty exciting.

To begin with, I chose Zoho after reading some of the information about it. Then, I decided to just jump in and see what I could do. Zoho Writer was appealing to me, because, as you all know, I'm always looking for new ways to collaborate with the team of trainers that I work with. However, it was Zoho Notebook that I decided to check out, because I liked the idea of an application that might allow me to jot down ideas in much the same way that I would do in a notebook. Well, I wasn't disappointed, but Zoho is a notebook on steroids.

First of all, I started playing with the notebook page and putting text here and there. Then, I realized that I can tack just about anything that I want to the page. Imagine going into a classroom that has whiteboards on all of the walls and being able to tack up a powerpoint presentation or a word document or an rss feed or a website or a video. Then, imagine being able to just move those all around - within one whiteboard or from one to another. Then, add some written comments or audio comments and/or video comments. There you go, Zoho Notebook.

The Notebook that I created is titled Duty of Fair Representation. I had some of those files available at home; so, I was able to upload them. The fun part (and the frustrating part) was adding the audio. Notebook will allow you to record comments and post them onto the page. It's just like a podcast. I did a few trial runs using the application itself, but when I went to do a recording that I wanted to use, I actually had to use my webcam microphone. (Another new adventure for me.) But, once I saved my recording, I was able to upload it onto my notebook page. So, take a look and see what you think.

What can an educator do with this? Well, the collaboration possibilities are amazing. It's actually a virtual whiteboard that can be used in real time. If two or more people are logged on, they can make changes that will show up on the other user's screen/notebook. In addition, users can chat about what is on the screen as they make changes.

What can students do with this? I think that the same type of collaboration can be made available. I really liked being able to include rss feeds and web pages. If students were working on a research project - for example on issues dealing with the Duty of Fair Representation, they can post websites that are relevant for one another. In addition, students can comment on the whole book, just one page or even just one object on a page. Then I realized that you can include a Zoho Write page. So, when working on a document that more than one user can make comments on, that document can be incorporated. Then, not last and not least, other applications can be included, such as calendars and spreadsheets.

Well, as you can see, I thought that it was pretty fun and versatile. I'm certain that I will be using it in the near future.