Online productivity tools
Introduction
The availability and use of online productivity web-based applications (think word processing and spreadsheets) has exploded over the past two years and for good reasons! These powerful applications provide users with the ability to create and share documents over the internet without the need of installed desktop applications. Some experts speculate that this emerging trend may mean the death to Microsoft Office and other software-based productivity tools, while others think web-based applications have their place, but not in the office. But no matter which side of the office suite platform you side with, on this both sides seem to agree; web-based apps have their place.
One large benefit to web-based applications it that they eliminate the need to worry about different software versions or file types as you email documents or move from PC to PC. Another bonus is that they easy accommodate collaboration by allowing multiple users to edit the same file (with versioning) and provide users the ability to easily save and convert documents as multiple file types (including HTML and pdf). And, you can even use many of these tools, such as Zoho Writer and Google Docs* (formerly known as Writely) to author and publish posts to your blog. It’s this type of integration with other web 2.0 tools that also makes web-based apps so appealing.
For this discovery exercise, participants are asked to take a look at a web-based word processing tool called Google Docs, create a simple document and then document your discoveries in your blog. If you're up to the challenge, you might even export your document as an HTML file or publish it through Google Docs to your blog.
With Google Docs and other web-based applications, the possibilities are endless.
Discovery Resources
- A short list of web-based productivity applications - Note: this list was authored in ZohoWriter and exported as HTML.
- A tour of Google Docs and Spreadsheets to help get you started
Discovery Exercise
- Create a free account for yourself in Google Docs. If you completed the Setting up your own blog activity, then you can use your blogger username and password to access google docs.
- Explore the site and create a few test documents or two.
- Try out Google Doc's features and create a blog post about your discoveries.
Optional: If you're up for the challenge, try using Google Docs's "publish" options to post to your blog.
Note: You can also explore Zoho Writer
Content based on the work of Helene Blowers for the Learning Web 2.0 Program at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County.
Modified to suit the context of Central Queensland University with permission of Helene.
