Test Drive #1 - Online Applications & Tools

Productivity software enables the simplification of the way collaboration on documents and presentations is achieved. Online in real time, saves time!

Explore: I found the Princeton Public Library's Slideshare Presentation enlightening. I had not realised how many different online applications were available!

Whilst at Uni last year these kind of applications would have been invaluable for group assignment work. We used a Uni-based web chat and wiki to collaborate, but we still needed to create a Powerpoint presentation as a group. The Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/ application would have made the process easier than what happened, which was emailing drafts back and forward to each other.

I searched Slideshare for presentations on Library 2.0 and found "Libraries and Collaboration with Local Government: NSW Public Sphere 2009". The concept of a Librarian as a "lifecoach for the digital age" (Mark Pesce) is interesting. As a Librarian I find this to be true in practice as I often help clients with basic internet instruction such as setting up email accounts and even explaining the difference between an email address and web address.

The Web Conferencing applications sound great! As a library worker in a regional area, conferences are often held a large distance away and visiting one would incur significant cost. With Web Conferencing applications like WebEx - http://webex.com/ or Saba Centra - http://www.saba.com/products/centra/, online conferencing has made conferences cost effective and achievable.

Discover: I had a try at using Google Docs and found the word processor simple to use. Possible applications for this tool at my workplace could include collaborative efforts from staff on new brochures, policies or instructional materials.