Week 8: Thing # 18--Online Applications & Tools

I have had a Zoho account for several years but have not used it in a long time. First it told me I wasn't registered, but then it found me and hugged my password. I have spent much more time recently in GoogleDocs, because that seems to be where our district is headed, and because I have taken some Infopeople training using it. I went back in to Zoho today and am very excited about the numerous offerings. The Zoho Writer interface is clean and  easier to use than Google Docs.

The real power of these online applications is collaboration. Our school has implemented some project based learning classrooms and is encouraging PBL throughout the curricula. We are beginning to use Google Docs in some classes, a radical change from just a couple of years ago when our district technology department actually forbid us to use it. An example of how backward thinking a forward thinking group should be: Our school network went down. We were still able to access the Internet, but could not save work to the network and we all received an emergency notice. I sent a message to our staff recommending that they use Google Docs instead, at least temporarily, and save their work in the cloud. Next morning, I received a scathing message informing me that Google Docs was unauthorized and that it was wrong to recommend it "for security reasons." I could never figure out how it was less secure to lose work than to put it on Google Docs​

Some of the links for this assignment are no longer working, so I was unable to see:

BTW: Here’s a Zoho-created document (viewable as a webpage) about some of the beneficial features of Zoho.

~or~

Here is a short list of web-based productivity applications – Note: This list was authored in ZohoWriter and exported as HTML.

​I was unable to download OpenOffice.org  because of tight school district policy, but what an opportunity this is. The interface, as far as I could tell from screen shots, looks friendly. Thier policies--free, no license fees, available for anyone to "use it for any purpose - domestic, commercial, educational, public administration" should make it highly desirable to economically challenged groups, like schools. They claim that it is compatable with other productivity tools. I tried to look at their Policies and Terms of Use, but I got an error message, which would concern me if the company association were not Oracle.

Between GoogleDocs, OpenOffice.org, and Zoho, I really like Zoho. For use at our high school, we are faily committed to the GoogleDocs suite and so I support its use. They should be aware, though, of other applications, what they will do, what they may or may not do better for diffierent purposes.

I looked at the Google Sites tutorial on YouTube (just opened at our site--unavailable for years). Then I went to the website to explore--the tutorial was from 2008 and it seems even better. My TAs are going to be assigned to create a collaborative Library Advocacy page--which will be interesting because they do not share a class hour and many do not know each other. Several of our teachers assign website creation for projects and this is a a great resource. The short personal success stories on the main page are a real hook for students and teachers and make this an easy sell.