Web Office

Overview:

Web-based office tools allow you to create, collaborate and share documents through your web browser. Miles gives a brief introduction to the latest web based office suites, such as Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Zoho, Thinkfree and more. For more information: http://www.lasa.org.uk/ictchampion/category/web_of...

Session Facilitator:

Miles Maier (LASA)

Miles

Biography:

Miles Maier is the London Regional ICT Champion. He advocates the cause of ICT to funders and policy-makers, and runs events sign-posting resources such as the Knowledgebase and Suppliers Directory voluntary sector. Before joining London Advice Services Alliance, Miles helped to develop ICT projects in East London, and was a circuit rider in Camden before he'd even heard of the term. He's also Lasa's resident Mac fan and would love an iPhone.

Session Notes:

The Web Office 101 or How to streamline your digital life or everything you ever wanted to ask about web office tools but didn't dare ask..... Thanks to Laura Whitehead, Paul Henderson of Ruralnet and John Kenyon for making this session fun and interactive with examples of the web office tools they use.

What: Web-based office tools allow you to create, collaborate and share documents through your web browser. Check out the free or low cost examples below:- Google Docs Google Calendar Zoho ThinkFree MS Office Live Zimbra (Yahoo!) Webex Some examples of commonly used web office tools: Homepages or Start-pages: This is the first page you see when firing up your web browser. Use iGoogle, Netvibes or Pageflakes to customise your homepage with feeds from your favourite news sites, calendar, blogs, weather, Flickr photos and more. These services are free and all you need to get started is an email address and a password.

iGoogle start page

Laura uses Netvibes (below) for her homepage.

Netvibes homepage

Paul uses Pageflakes for his homepage.

Pageflakes homepage

Mobile Office: Use Google Calendar to keep track of your busy life - work, kids and personal. You can share your calendar with friends and colleagues. Miles uses Google Mobile to send text message reminders to his phone - this helps him turn up on time, barring mishaps with trains, tubes and buses.

Google cal

Google Calendar options

Documents and Spreadsheets:

Google Docs, Zoho and others offer a great way working collaboratively on the same document at the same time. John and Miles are fans of Google Docs, using it collaborate and share project documents, meeting minutes and agendas with colleagues. Google Docs

RSS Feeds:

Subscribe to RSS feeds using Bloglines like Paul or Google Reader like Miles to get all the news from your favourite websites to delivered to you, wherever you are. You can also use Netvibes and Pageflakes to add feeds from your favourite sites to your homepage. Google Reader

Bookmarks:

Do you have bookmarks of your favourite websites spread over home and work computers? Use del.icio.us or magnolia to save your favourite websites in one place, so you can access them from anywhere. Use tags to label websites you visit, making them easier to find and share. Check out the del.icio.us toolbar for Internet Explorer or Firefox web browsers. Miles uses del.icio.us.

Delicious bookmarks

Laura likes Magnolia (below) for discovering, sharing and discovering the best of the web!

magnolia social bookmarks Pros:
  • Free or low cost
  • Anywhere with computer and Internet
  • Collaborate and share
Cons:
  • Security
  • Sustainability - will this service provider be around next year or get bought out?
  • Lack of web accessibility features
What next?
  • Figure out which tools can do which job for you – calendar, address book, docs, etc
  • Experiment - sign up for a free account
  • Check out the Web Office Database at IT Redux for a list of web office tools
  • Blog it up – let us know how you got on!