More with Google docs.

I found that the "100 great Google docs tips for students & educators" was very useful. Some handy tips include:
* working off-line which allows us to continue our work without Internet access in times when the Internet connection is down
* Saving as different file types
* Translating foreign text and even whole webpages using the fantastic Google translate tool (Google translates to other languages which you select at the same time you are typing)
* Using reference tools.

One of the more useful features which I really I like, is the ability to collaborate with others, that is, we can work on the same document in a group without actually meeting each other. It is a real time saver and the other magical feature is we can edit our document even when it is already published.

Google Docs is also a great place for us to back up our documents so that we can access them anywhere provided we have a computer and Internet access. This allows us to avoid common problems such as USBs being left behind or incompatible systems...

Most of the features sound easy to use and in addition we can also ask other users for help through the Google forum.

Getting organized : customised home pages and Google tools

The i-Google is very easy to customise. I can move the gadgets around by clicking on them then hold and drag them to where I want. There are lots of useful gadgets such as the weather gadget, date & time gadget that allows you to search times of certain locations in the world, the Top news gadget, Currency converter gadget, Best place to go gadget, and Motormouth petrol PriceTracker.

There are lots of beautiful themes for you to select. You can have your own pets moving around your homepage (you can pick a pet by clicking on the "add it now" button belonging to a certain pet gadget). I chose two turtles and they are cute.

I-Google is a very handy tool where you can group different social networks together and therefore we can find sites easily, check out updated information such as subscribed RSS feeds, or people followed on Twitter, or a blog, etc. You can also check email and play with your pets all at once from the one screen.

Here is a screen shot of my I-Google homepage to share with everyone.

Event management

I signed up to doodle and Google calendar. I then created a mock invitation as practice for this week's activities. I also signed up to Anyvite. I like this one more. It has features which are very handy and which allow us to create event invitations easily. There is an RSVP feature with simple options for our guests to respond with a "Yes, maybe or no". Anyvite also lets guests know how many people they can bring with them and what they need to bring to the event... You can also mark and link the event onto the Google calendar, Outlook, and ical so we can receive a reminder for ourselves.
I think that Anyvite can be useful for library events such as the youth and children's summer reading parties because we need to know the number of people attending so we can prepare (foods, staff etc). We can also send invitations and receive responses via two way communication. It will work especially well if all parents have their own email addresses.

Productivity : more ways with rss

I was introduced to RSS tools in nswlearning2.0 last year and have been using them as a tool for my self-study since then. I've been subscribing to learning language sites and been listening to, and reading them on a regular basis via iTunes, emails and bloglines.

I've tried Google alert, Spoken Text--Text to speech RSS and Tabbloid.
"Spoken Text" is the tool which I like the most. It is just like magic when you see how easily and quickly it can convert text in a word document, pdf file, powerpoint, and web pages into audio files. You can then share these audio files on blogs, or transportable devices eg, ipod, cd.

Slideshare

All the presentation tools introduced this week are very useful tools. Some of the excellent features they present include:

Their accessibility- we can use them everywhere at any time as long as a computer and internet are available.

We can edit our presentations, or slide shows even once they are sent. When we edit our original presentation or slide show it will then automatically update all others when opened.

We can use these presentations to conduct online training for staff as well as patrons etc...

Slideshow - Zoho show

Nings exploration

After a bit exploration during the last few days. I've developed this understanding about what Ning are:

When signing up with Ning2.0 we have to wait for approval to be accepted as a member. We can then see our name indicated under latest activities. Activities such as leaving comments or joining groups will also be up dated under that section.

We have our own Ning page; we can develop our own page using the same features as found on the main page. We are then able to invite people to join, customise our page, add photos, videos or bring up topics for discussion.

Ning are great for sharing knowledge, ideas, and learning from each other.

Nings are not places where people can share their personal matters such as Facebook...

As member of Ning we are able to find people who have the same interests and same jobs to share and learn from them. We learn through asking questions, or reading comments between members. We have to follow certain rules, in general, we always respect other cultures, and belief... We are not to allowed to insult other people. If someone does it their membership will be canceled as a result.