Thing #17: Web-based apps: break free from your desktop!

The availability and use of online productivity web-based applications (think word processing and spreadsheets) has exploded over the past few 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 or Windows to Mac! You can create a document at home, but work on it anywhere that has an Internet connection. Another bonus is that they easily 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 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 Google’s version of web-based word processing, Google Docs, create a simple document, and then write about your discoveries in your blog.

With Google Docs and other web-based applications, think of all the different possibilities and benefits!

Discovery Resources:

–> Just so everyone knows, we will be using Google Docs for this Discovery Exercise, based on the popularity of Google Reader back when we did Things 8 and 9 on RSS feeds. Feel free to use Zoho Writer, if you prefer, but this exercise will focus on Google Docs.

1. Common Craft explains Google Docs as only they can:
   www.commoncraft.com
2. Take a tour of all the features of Google Docs, including spreadsheets, saving and storing documents, and sharing your work.

Discovery Exercise:

1. Create a free account for yourself in Google Docs. If you already have a Gmail account, besides knowing that you’re using one of the best free email providers out there, you automatically have access to Google Docs! (But you probably knew this, right?)
2. Explore Google Docs and create a test document or two. Experiment with the word processing features (similar to Word), speadsheets (similar to Excel) and presentations (similar to PowerPoint).
3. After you’ve created some test documents, select one and then choose “More Actions.” See how you can publish, or save your document as a PDF or other version.
4. Create a blog post about your discoveries with Google Docs. Try to answer these questions: How could online applications such as Google Docs help you in your day-to-day work? How could libraries incorporate and ultimately benefit from these tools?

OPTIONAL: If you want, share one of your test documents either on your blog or by linking to it online. (*Note: the important part of this exercise to learn and play with Google Docs. If you don’t want to put your document in your blog or link to it, you do not have to, just make sure you blog about your experiences.)