Web Tools for Enhancing Collaboration

Collaborate is one of the most often used terms in education, and there is no better way to collaborate than with 2.0 Web tools. Here are some favorites:

• DABBLEBOARD is a whiteboard that enables you to visualize, explore, and collaborate. Just draw as you would on a whiteboard and you can easily share your ideas.

• COSKETCH is another collaborative whiteboard program, and you don’t have to register or install anything. It works in all browsers, it’s real-time, and you can get an embed code for your drawing after you finish.

• STIXY lets you create an online bulletin board on which to collaborate with family, friends, and colleagues. You can share pictures, files, reminders, and notes using widgets whose sizes and colors you can change—and it’s free.

• GROU.PS lets you create your own social network. You can create your forum and your mailing list; share documents, files, and your agenda to organize events; have your own YouTube; and share links, bookmarks, and photos. You can have real-time chat, and you can let the users have subgroups. Free.

• NING is the one of the best sites for creating and joining new social networks that interest us.

• IMAGINATIONCUBED is a multiuser drawing tool. You can use a pen, stamps, shapes, lines, or type.

• If you are using Twitter, you may want to try GROUPTWEET. It lets you turn your Twitter account into a group communication tool where everyone in the group uses direct messaging. When a member gets a DM, GroupTweet turns it into a new tweet that all followers in the group can see.

• WALLWISHER is an online noticeboard maker. Use this tool to make announcements and keep notes. You can use links, pictures, music, video, and pages. You don’t have to register.

• PAGEFLAKES is a social personalized homepage that you can customize by using “flakes” of all your Web favorites. You can add Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, photos, music, videos, calendar, to-do list, message board, and RSS feed.

• WETOKU is an interview tool that automatically records interviews to play them back. You can embed it and share it with others.

• SPRINGNOTE is an online notebook for collaboration. You can write down your ideas, create to-do lists, schedule, and work together on projects. It also has an iPhone application.

• MEBEAM is a place where you can create your own chat room. You just type the name of the room and tell people to meet you there.


Source of Information : Tech and Learning February 2010