Group items tagged

BigBlueButton is a brand new, free open source web-meeting platform ideally suited to Universities and Colleges for delivering Distance Education [1]. BigBlueButton runs on Mac, Unix and PC computers and desktop integration is available with VMWare, Ubuntu, Debian and RPM packages and Gentoo is currently in development [2]. BigBlueButton utilises 15 open source components and BigBlueButton's Demo shows how easily it supports video, chat and audio conferencing, PDF and PPT slide-sharing, and, Open Office Org files or Microsoft Office document sharing [3] [4] [5]. Three levels of users are moderator, presenter & viewers, the moderator can choose themselves, or others to be a presenter. The class presenter can share their desktop view with the rest of the class and directly message an individual student during a meeting [3]. The BigBlueButton site hosts a variety of tutorial demonstrations so prospective clients can become familiar with this feature-rich package [3]. The Demo page allows vistors to test run the product by joining a Demo Meeting [6]. Whilst BigBlueButton is an web-meeting platform for online conferences, the people from BigBlueButton do not provide hosting. Nevertheless BigBlueButton is easily downloaded and installed onto the education provider's own server space [7]. The package is coded with a clean, lean design that focuses on usability and multiple virtual classrooms can be run from a single BigBlueButton server [8]. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada use BigBlueButton as a learning envrioment in their 'Systems and Computer Engineering' course [9]. see below for References

BigBlueButton is a web conferencing system that is specifically tailored for distance education [1], particularly for universities and colleges to allow high-quality e-learning [2]. It is open source and constantly under development. The system is Flash-based and allows sharing of slides, voice, chat, video and desktops [3]. Generally speaking, the system is well received; however there has been some criticism about the slowness of desktop sharing [4]. The system strongly utilises Open Source methodology by utilising existing apps and code to piece together and present a virtual classroom solution [4]. The use of Open Source can be positive in a corporate sense as it often has a large support community and the ability to conduct one's own development. BigBlueButton does not offer commercial hosting of its service, which is arguably why it is being pitched to universities (given access to considerable resources in the guise of students and IT staff) [5]. This may be a disadvantage in some respects; however a corporate organisation may consider this a better solution to wholly hosted applications, as a stronger level of control is possible. It has been reported that the developers are very hands on in regards to live demos of the product, which is comforting when trying to learn a new piece of software [6], however, the system is very new, which may deter some organisations from utilising until it is more proven.

[1] BigBlueButton. (2010). BigBlueButton Blog. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from http://bigbluebutton-blog.blogspot.com/ [2] BigBlueButton. (2010). Homepage. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from http://bigbluebutton.org/ [3] Asterisk Exchange. (2010). BigBlueButton. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.asteriskexchange.com/listings/165 [4] SetupLinux. (2010). BigBlueButton: Web conference and meeting room review. SetupLinux.com. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.setuplinux.com/2010/04/bigbluebutton-web-conference-and-meeting-room-review/ [5] Byrne. (2010). Big Blue Button - An Open Source Video Conferencing Platform. Free Technology for Teachers. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/03/big-blue-button-open-source.html [6] Lavolette, E. (2010). Push the BigBlueButton. Betsy's Eclection. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://betsylavolette.com/?p=928

"Interactive website tools for distance learning, online tutoring, collaboration and fun. Add whiteboard, chat, games, message boards, VOIP and web conferencing to your website by simply copying a few lines of HTML code. Over 100,000 created!"[1] Groupboard.com is an online collaborative whiteboard used for educational, business conferencing and entertainment purposes. Groupboard.com offers free software for businesses or individuals to add to their websites. Basically, the whiteboard acts as a real time drawing board. The software is offered in three distinct formats: groupboard (simple), groupboard designer (advanced) and groupworld.net. Groupboard (simple java whiteboard): This applet allows for simple text messaging and voice conferencing. Groupboard suggests that this format can be used for "tutoring, distance learning, training, or simply for fun!"[2] The whiteboard can handle picture uploads that can be drawn over, which may be particularly helpful in teaching for both education and businesses. Groupboard Designer (advanced): This is an advanced version, as this whiteboard can be used to add extras to the drawing capability, such as mathematical signs for teaching or the symbols used when an architect is compiling a blueprint. Groupworld.net: This format advances the whiteboard again by adding voice/video conferencing and desktop sharing capabilities to strongly enhance the collaborative environment.

Groupboard is an online whiteboard tool that can be used by educators, students, designers and anyone with a collaboratve project or task [1]. The Groupboard whiteboard can be added to a website and the Groupboard iPhone Applet allows for connectivity to the whiteboard via the iPhone [1]. Other online whiteboard collaboration tools include Virtual Whiteboard [2], Dabbleboard [3] and Vyew [4]. Virtual Whiteboard limits the length of time that a whiteboard is available for and their is a limit of four users per 15 minute collaboration session [2]. Dabbleboard's free package offers a whiteboard with unlimited users but they do not offer a website embedding option like Groupboard [3]. Vyew is a feature-rich online whiteboard application from the big-end of town. Vyew's customer page lists many positive testimonials from multi-national corporations, large educational institutions and collaboration tool reviewers [5]. Vyew does not offer a website embedding option like Groupboard. TechCrunch's review of Groupboard attests to its reliability and usefulness as a whiteboard tool [6]. Groupboard is free to use, offering good value for smaller educational groups or low-end designers. Groupboard is a relevant addition to this collaboration tool list. see References below

References [1] Groupboard. (n.d.). 'Groupboard: free online collaborative whiteboard and chat'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.groupboard.com/products/ [2] Foster, T. (2010). 'Virtual Whiteboard'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.virtual-whiteboard.co.uk/home.asp [3] Dabbleboard Inc. (2009). 'Dabbleboard - Online whiteboard for drawing & team collaboration - Interactive whiteboard software'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.dabbleboard.com/ [4] Simulat Inc. (2010). 'Vyew - FREE Anytime Collaboration and Live Web Conferencing'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://vyew.com/site/index3 [5] Simulat Inc. (2010). 'Customers - Vyew'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://vyew.com/site/customers/testimonials/ [6] TechCrunch. (2010). 'CrunchBase - Groupboard'. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.crunchbase.com/company/groupboard

Lynda.com offers a web based training solution for collaborative groups [1], the multi-user program is an online application that lets a single administrator manage a group of Online Training Library® subscriptions. This program is ideal for institutions, offering Online Training Library® access to a group of 5 or more users. The multi-user program administrator has access to a series of reports that track individual account usage. A key benefit of Lynda.com is the 24 hour online access to the Lynda.com database of thousands of training videos [2], which reduces costly offsite training expenses, with production loss and geographical transport issues, with Lynda.com a trainer can find out, down to the minute, how long a section of training will take, making easy to fit the training into a hectic schedule. Traditionally, inter-departmental training interactions within organisations and collaborations have been infrequent and difficult to maintain and monitor the benefit of the adoption of the software tools and services that foster fluidity and cooperation uses technology to build bridges between departments. The comprehensive reporting and graphing within this training application, tracks usage per account and offers other statistical data such as most viewed titles, total usage by all users, offering simple analysis of performance. A case study is provided by the media giant Time Warner Cable Media, who produce television commercials and require constant training on the latest multimedia applications, but the company's offices, are spread across a large region. Historically, assembling these busy professionals together for training was a huge challenge [3].

References: [1] Lynda.com available from http://www.lynda.com [2] OpinionsandReviews.com, Is It Really Worth The Money? Retrieved 8th April 2010 from http://www.opinionsandreviews.com [3] Anonymous. 'Case Study:Time Warner Cable Media Sales'. Retrieved 9th April 2010 from http://www.lynda/casestudy.pdf

Lynda.com is a useful tool to help software users keep up to date with the latest releases and technology available [1]. No matter what software skills you require, there is bound to be a online tutorial available on Lynda.com to watch and learn. With access to 40,000+ tutorials, there is sure to be a software program to suit your needs [1]. Even if users are comfortable with an application, there are always tricks to learn or additional upgrades with more features. With Lynda.com keeping up to date is simplified [2]. Whether you're into digital photography, web design and development, motion graphics, or just need to brush up on Excel, you can learn all the software skills you need to gain a competitive edge with our online tutorials. Once users have registered, they are able to watch any of the videos available from anywhere at any time with their login details. There are different subscription options available either on a monthly or annual basis. The prices range from US$25 per month for the basic subscription which allows access 24/7 to all courses. The monthly premium package for US$37.50 per month includes exercise files which you can use to follow along with the tutorials. The annual subscription saves $50 which is an extra 2 months free and the annual premium subscription [2]. Online education plays an important role in today's education and as Richardson (2009) [3] explains it is common for both on campus and off campus higher education refers to "face-to-face and online course delivery as 'blended learning'". Over the years, online learning has improved significantly and the accessibility of anywhere, anytime learning is an attractive factor in choosing online learning [3]. References [1] Lynda.com: Our Mission. Retrieved 14 April 2010 from http://www.lynda.com/aboutus/Default.aspx [2] Lynda.com: Products. Retrieved 14 April 2010 from http://www.lynda.com/products/Default.aspx [3] Richardson, J. T. E. (2009). Face-to-Face Versus

Slogan: Travel is a luxury, communication is not. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is a web conferencing solution. The full capabilities of Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro software allows hosting of instant, collaborative meetings with hundreds of participants using only a web browser and Adobe Flash Player. (Adobe, 2009) Some of the features are: * Secure sharing of desktops, documents and presentations. * Control over access to online meetings. * Instant communicate and collaborate. * Online meeting rooms. * Video and audio * Screen-sharing * Text and chat (Adobe, 2009) Clemson University (USA) chose Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro to accommodate the needs of graduate students who couldn't always attend their classes in person. The university decided on Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, partly because it was easy to scale as and needs and resources allowed or dictated. (Dawson, 2009) Adobe's Acrobat Connect Pro conferencing solution encompasses a comprehensive set of tools that have satisfied a variety of needs for both on and off campus students and tutors. IT support staff, teachers and students frequently use the system for troubleshooting and learning support. The use of video conferencing has significantly reduced travel expenses for the faculty. (Dawson, 2009) Designed to protect meeting spaces from security threats, one of Connect Pro's greatest assets is the end-to-end encryption provided by password strength optimisers that require user authentication both for presenters and attendees alike. Hosts and presenters can control all levels of attendee access, from media files to voice privileges. In addition, Adobe Connect Pro provides features to enable the keeping of full logs of meetings and the functionality to audit logs for potentially malicious use or data corruption. (TopTenReviews, 2010) References below - in comment

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro If your students/employees have a web browser and Adobe Flash Player then Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is an e-learning tool that may have value in their education, training and conferencing needs [1]. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro has three main streams of use and several key features: 1. Web Conferencing a. Delivery through any web browser that doesn't require extra software downloads. b. Worldwide connection of distributed teams c. Synchronous viewing by all participants. d. Custom URL for consistency. e. Works with multiple audio platforms f. Facility to record meetings g. Customisable interface 2. eLearning a. Content creation can be customised to suit the situation - virtual or self-paced courses. b. Synchronous viewing by all participants c. Customisable templates that can be adapted for reuse. d. Tracking of students progress e. Surveying and polling of students f. Facility to incorporate third-party systems within the existing e-learning tool 3. Web Seminars a. Branding of interface b. Extends your arm of contacts and participants c. Cut costs while increasing your point of contact. d. Manage registrations e. Qualify attendees and send out email notifications. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is built on the foundation of Flash technology, which is compatible with up to 98% of Internet connected computers. Add to this its ability to function on an extremely low bandwidth, and its user authentication strengths, this makes it an effective, safe and highly accessible application [2]. While Oliver Rist, of Pcmag.com, rates the overall application highly, he does warn that its depth of features can lead to a need for a large learning curve when starting out [3]. Rist also lists the applications main strengths as being within the meeting, or conferencing, component because of its slick and clever interface, which can be customised all while working within the web browser.

[1] Adobe (2010) Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/acrobatconnectpro/elearning/ [2] TopTen Revies (2010) Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://web-conferencing-services.toptenreviews.com/adobe-connect-pro-review.html [3] Rist, Oliver (2008) Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional. Retrieved on 14th April 2010 from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2279709,00.asp

Edmodo is a free private social network for education, which is easy and simple to use. (Edmodo, 2010) It creates an online learning space that is safe and secure, where teachers and students can interact and connect with each other. Edmodo can be used in the classroom and also after class when students are at home. Its layout has a similar look and feel to existing social media tools such as Facebook, and the operation of the site is similar to Twitter, where posts are made live instantly. Since Edmodo is similar to existing social media websites, students see schoolwork as being fun, and "are comfortable with using Edmodo at home and logging on and talking about school work" (abc7, 2010) Edmodo works by users creating a teacher or student account. Teacher's accounts allow them to create groups for example, Math Class Red and Math Class Green. Students can join groups by entering a unique code provided by the teacher. This prevents and limits who can join the group. (Thomas, 2010) Teachers can use Edmodo to post messages and files, send links to websites, create and send assignments, send back assignment results and create polls. Edmodo allows teachers to send these to individuals, groups or everyone in the class. Student's accounts allow them to message the teacher, groups or everyone in the class, but prevents them messaging one another. By doing this, it avoids student's instant messaging each other, (Thomas, 2010) and only allows them to use Edmodo for educational purposes.

Teachers and students can be kept up to date with the latest activity via text message and with Edmodo being accessible via mobile phones, (Edmodo, 2010) posts can be made and activity checked anytime, anywhere. Teachers are finding that by encouraging students to post comments on Edmodo they are becoming "actively engaged in classroom discussions". Since social media is second nature to students, by using websites like Edmodo, teachers are able to connect with students with "technology they already understand".(abc7, 2010) Reference: abc7. (2010). Special Segment:Techno Teaching. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video?id=7268097 Edmodo. (2010). Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.edmodo.com/ Thomas, C. (2010). 016 - Using Edmodo as a collaboration and communication tool. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.iprimary.co.uk/tutorial.php?tutorialID=016

Transform how your team works, be it the educational sector (teachers and students) or the commercial sector (project teams) by using Adobe's Acrobat Buzzword service. Buzzword is a simple yet powerful multi-user document editing service designed to streamline review processes for simultaneous collaborative report writing. Buzzword, may look and behave like a word processor, but it is a web-based server that runs in Flash giving a high-quality graphical and design interface, full document formatting and 'print-perfect' documents in Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, Rich Text and Open Office [1] and across computing platforms. You can create your document within Buzzword or import an existing one. Eliminate the endless back-and-forward and usually large email responses and attachments and keep control of annotations and versions. Control your document access by making certain people 'co-authors' who can edit and other team members 'reviewers' who can only comment. Each reviewer uses a different colour making it easier to keep tabs on who is annotating and there is a feature that enables you to view who is online and editing a particular document. [1] [2] Enterprise, government and educational sectors have found Buzzword to be an integral part of their collaboration process and claim that since adopting the service, they have 'reduced duplicate input and shortened the time it takes to finalise a document from several days to just hours'. [3] For Acrobat.com subscription pricing, please refer to: https://acrobat.com/pricing.html [1] Adobe Buzzword. Retrieved from URL: http://www.adobe.com/acom/buzzword [2] Miller, M. (2009). 'Comparing Google Docs with Competing Cloud Computing Applications'. Retrieved from URL: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p

An outstanding feature of Adobe Buzzword is that it offers a free subscription service for smaller users, through to premium services for larger corporations. For a small business the free subscription would be ideal. As a result Adobe Buzzword can be adapted and used by corporations of any size as well as educational institutes. Some reviews of Adobe Buzzword have been very positive with Michael Klurfield of TECHGEIST saying "Buzzword is easily the best word processing software online right now." He explained that Buzzword does such things as annotations and comments are a lot easier in Buzzword than in Microsoft Word and that the sharing off documents is easy. PC MAG.COM compares uploading of Microsoft Word documents to Buzzword to both Google Docs and Zoho Writer and found that although there were some layout problems it was superior when uploading images. A paper from the 25th Annual Conference on distance Teaching and Learning identified Adobe Buzzword as "we find Adobe's Buzzword to be the best tool for the development of the course" (Staley and Ice, 2009) One of the problems Buzzword overcame for them was the necessity of having to email large documents back and forth and worry about version control. Adobe Buzzword it also incorporates the placement of images into your document and automatically flows the text around them. Its tools allow resizing of images. As with most word processors Buzzword can create bulleted lists and incorporate symbols and numbers. (http://www.adobe.com/acom/buzzword/) Sobti, (2009) states that "Buzzword differs from most other online document editors in that it is built on Adobe Flash, and which this makes the environment that much more rich" Adobe also has extensive help and demonstration sections for a new user for ease of learning.

References: Adobe - Acrobat.com Documents. (n.d.). Adobe. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.adobe.com/acom/buzzword/ Klurfield, M. (2009, June 16). Adobe Buzzword " Very Cool Online Wordprocessing | Techgeist. Techgeist. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://techgeist.net/2009/06/adobe-buzzword-very-cool-online-wordprocessing/ Mendelson, E. (2008, August 4). Adobe Buzzword beta - Compatibility with Microsoft Word - Reviews by PC Magazine. Technology Product Reviews, News, Prices & Downloads | PCMag.com | PC Magazine . Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2327019,00.asp Sobti, K. (2009, July 24). The ODE Adobe Acrobat Buzzword - Online Best Latest The ODE Adobe Acrobat Buzzword Price Reviews | Features in India. Digit - Thinkdigit Technology Guides | Technology News & Reviews | Free Downloads | Video | Online Tech Support Forums in India. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/The-ODE-Adobe-Acrobat-Buzzword_3231.html Stanley, J., & Ice, P. (2009). Intructional Design Project Managment 2.0: A Model of Development and Practive. 25th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning, .(2009), .. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/Resource_library/proceedings/09_19400.pdf

Web2 has seen the rise in online social networks like MySpace and Facebook, Ning is different because it allows you to create your own social network to share with a few people or with the world [1]. Project managers, activists, educators or anyone interested in starting-up an online community have the opportunity to create their own free Social Network with Ning [1] [2]. With your own Social Network you can share and discuss projects, form workgroups, collaborate and meet over any cause or topic of interest [1]. Members can ask to join a created Social Network, the administrator and network friends can invite other members to join [3]. Your Social Network can be a public, globally accessible network or it can be a private, select group of approved members only [3]. Ning is a feature-rich Social Network and with the Ning Apps directory, members can add extra functionality to their personal Ning page [4]. Ning network administrators can pick and choose from many features to customise the look and feel of their social network and their members' experience [5]. Your network's members can upload photos to their own photo gallery, they can chat, create conversation topics, upload videos and customise the appearance of their profile page [6]. The searchable Ning Blog [7] has a series of FAQ and help articles to assist new users and network administrators. Your Ning Network can be set up so it appears under your own domain name [8]. Since it commencement in 2005 Ning's co-founders Marc Andreessen (from Netscape fame) & Gina Bianchini have been the brains behind developing the platform for the 20 million visitors who currently use Ning today [9]. see References below

Ning is an online social collaboration tool which brings together networks of people with similar interests and passions [1]. Ning submits information into categories to ensure content is accessible for users. The categories include: sports, causes, education, art, politics, entertainment, networking and music [1]. It is about creating a customized social network and inviting people to join or joining social networks already created with topics of interest. Ning integrates different applications like blogs, wiki, forums, photo galleries and calendars [1]. Ning's main competitor in the online social network space is SocialGo with Facebook and MySpace offering a similar service however not as tailored and unique [2]. As at 12/11/2008 Ning had over 4 million visitors a month [4] after its launch in 2005. In a recent article, McCracken (2009) [2] revealed that Ning has announced it will no longer provide free networks, which means network creators will either have to switch to a paid plan or leave Ning and move elsewhere. It is a brave move and with other competitors offering a similar service for free, it will be interesting to see if creators will remain with Ning or move on. However as Ramirez (2009) [3] points out, according to the 'ownership rights' which is part of the 'Terms of Services', "Ning owns all right, title and interest, including, all intellectual property rights, in and to the Ning Technology". So depending on what Ning is to be used for, it is important to read the terms of service for any online collaboration tool. References [1] Ning: Create and Discover. Retrieved 16 April 2010 from http://www.ning.com/ [2] McCracken, H. (2010). Ning: No More Free Networks. Retrieved 16 April 2010 from http://www.pcworld.com/article/194379/ning_no_more_free_networks.html [3] Ramirez, N. (2009). Ning Review. Retrieved 16 April 2009 from http://www.thecommunityarchitect.com/2009/06/01/ning-review/ [4] Nations, D. (n.d.). What is Ning? Retrie

References continued .... [7] Ning Inc. (2010). 'Why You'll ♥ Ning'. Retrieved April 2, 2010 from http://about.ning.com/ [8] Ning Inc. (2010). 'Extend your brand by using your own domain'. Retrieved March 30, 2010 from http://help.ning.com/cgi-bin/ning.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=3640 [9] Parr, B. (2010). 'Ning CEO Gina Bianchini Stepping Down. Mashable - the social media guide'. Retrieved April 2, 2010 from http://mashable.com/2010/03/15/ning-ceo-gina-bianchini-stepping-down/

Scribblar is a fun, free, multi-user online collaboration tool that is especially effective for online training and brainstorming in an e-learning environment, with the sharing and exchanging of image and text files. Scribblar, developed in 2007, is the brainchild of UK-based muchosmedia.com, providing the online collaboration market with a social interaction tool that acts as a whiteboard with live audio, text-chat etc. Muchosmedia has been recognised by Adobe as global experts in developing Flash applications, serving on Adobe' industry advisory board [5]. Scribblar PRO is also available to users for a fee, allowing the integration of your own logo and customised features onto your website without the hosting and bandwith costs. With instant access to audio, video, live chat and powerful drawing and editing tools, Scribblar PRO can easily be incorporated within any website design with varied access and privilege levels [1]. Mainly, Scribblar is a great, flash-based education tool and has been designed to allow multiple users to interact simultaneously, without interruption. A major feature of Scribblar is the facility to upload an image for enhancing, editing, commenting or collaborating by multiple users, by utilising its drawing, text and sound tools [2]. A review done by a media library specialist, Kathy Pierce [3], highlights the interaction and educational value of integrating Scribblar in schools. For a comprehensive tutorial, visit YouTube [4] for a step-by-step explanation of each tool available on the Scribblar whiteboard for online collaboration. References posted below.

References: [1] Walsh, K. (2009). Online Interactive Whiteboards. EmergingEdTech Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2009/04/online-interactive-whiteboards/ [2] theDAILYAPP. (2008). Scribblar - Online Collaboration Design Room. Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://thedailyapp.com/media/photos/scribblar-online-collaboration-design-room [3] Ferris, B. (2009). Collaborate simply, graphically, with Scribblar. Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://blogs.learnnc.org/instructify/2009/10/20/scribblar-collaborate-mindmap-brainstorming/

References: [1] Muchosmedia (2010). Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.scribblar.com [2] Free Technology for Teachers (2008). 'Creative Collaboration with Scribblar'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2008/09/creative-collaboration-with-scribblar.html [3] Library Media Musings (2009). Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://librarymm.blogspot.com/2009/11/collaborate-online-with-scribblar.html [4] YouTube (2009). 'Scribblar Demo'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZenKhLVRg [5] Haschke Ink (n.d.). 'Muchos Media Content'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://haschkeink.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Muchos_Media.46100818.pdf

Dabbleboard is a Flash-driven (Beyond Google, 2009) "collaborative whiteboard application" (Tour, 2009) which mimics a whiteboard and can be used for business or education purposes. It allows users to easily visualize and collaborate ideas on an online canvas. (Karaoglu, 2010) Users can draw freehand shapes, insert images and input content. With a computer and Internet access, anyone can access Dabbleboard. There is no need to signup, although signing up will allow images to be saved and accessed at a later date. Two different accounts are available when signing up. Free Accounts, which allows a user to draw, share with an unlimited amount of people and save the image as a .PNG file. Pro Accounts, which may suit businesses can cost from $8US to $200US a month, (Pricing, 2009) depending on the businesses needs. Pro account allows the same access as Free Accounts with the extra features of no limit of documents or images created, secure sites using SSL/https encryption, images are downloaded as SVG files offering "greater data portability", (Pricing, 2009) customizable layout with ability to add business logos and program support is also offered. A benefit is its ease of use, allowing users to draw "simple shapes that automatically are detected and transformed into rectangles, circles, diamonds, and triangles, straight and curved lines." (Dabbleboard, 2010) Users can click and start typing without the need to change tools. Its ability to detect simple shapes and text can save time and frustration. (Tour, 2009) Also objects used regularly can be saved and accessed from the library at any time creating greater efficiency. (Lowensohn, 2008) Images can be shared by sending links to emails and chat in Dabbleboard. Images can be shared with invited members or made public so anyone can view and edit them. (Tour, 2009) --Continued Below in Anamaria R comment--

Within an organisation, a whiteboard is ideal for visual brainstorming sessions but with many companies being global it is difficult to get all employees together for such a session [5]. Even in local business it can be difficult to get co-ordinate staff [1]. Dabbleboard is an online application that allows you to draw as naturally as you would on a real whiteboard [1]. A whiteboard makes it easier to visualise ideas and the collaborative nature of the internet makes it easier for others to comment and offer feedback. [1]. With the online whiteboard users can draw freehand diagrams and sketches and write notes plus their is a library with ready made objects for piecing together pictures, charts, designs or maps [3]. All shapes and objects can be resized, moved or copied and the whiteboard is compatible with most illustration programs[4]. Users can watch changes being made to the whiteboard in real time or be notified of changes by email [1][3]. All changes made to the whiteboard can be saved for later use and users can come back and add to it or comment at a time convenient for them [1]. Currently Dabbleboard is working on a new product called AlmostMeet which will be an online service for collaborative group meetings. It is currently in the beta stages and will have many web conferencing features available for remote group meetings [2]. [1] Dabbleboard Inc (20100. Dabbleboard. Retrieved 19 April, 2010, from http://www.dabbleboard.com/ [2] Dabbleboard Inc (2010). Almost Meet Beta. Retrieved 19 April, 2010, from http://almostmeet.com/ [3] Lifehacker (n/d). Dabbleboard Collaborative Whiteboard. Retrieved 19 April, 2010, from http://lifehacker.com/5058459/dabbleboard-collaborative-whiteboard [4] AppAppeal (2010). Dabbleboard. Retrieved 19 April, 2010, from http://www.appappeal.com/app/dabbleboard/ [5] eHow (2010). How to Use an Electronic Whiteboard for Visual Brainstorming Sessions. Retrieved 19 April, 2010, from http://www.ehow.com/how_21657

--Continued from Above in Anamaria R comment-- Dabbleboard allows users to collaborate with others in real-time using communication features such as instant messenger chat and 3rd party application 'tokbox' voice and video chat, (Tour, 2009) which allows and encourages group collaboration making this tool a great asset for both business and education needs. Reference: Beyond Google Docs: 7 Web-Based Collaboration Apps; Along with the search-engine giant's popular collaboration tools, we look at Zoho Writer, Pastebin, Dabbleboard, Dimdim, Yugma, and Bubbl.us. (2009). pNAInformationWeek. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM Dabbleboard. (2010). Retrieved April 16, 2010, from http://www.appappeal.com/app/dabbleboard/ Karaoglu, O. (2010). Web tools for enhancing collaboration. Technology & Learning. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.scu.edu.au/itx/start.do?prodId=EAIM. Lowensohn, J. (2008). Dabbleboard saves your sketches, time. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10057647-2.html Pricing & Signup. (2009). Retrieved April 14, 2010, from https://www.dabbleboard.com/pro Tour. (2009). Retrieved April 14, 2010, from http://www.dabbleboard.com/tour

Collaber is a virtual office that holds user information secure on a dedicated server, working on both Intranets and Extranets. The multi-platform (such as Windows, Linux and Mac) project management software allows for communication and sharing of data in a password-protected online environment. Educational institutions can benefit by creating virtual classrooms with file sharing and live interaction utilising the attractive graphics. First-time users immediately gain an understanding of available features by viewing the short video tutorials available on every feature, further enhancing the overall perception of ease of use. A demo page is also available to work through the complete process of engaging online collaboration with Collaber [1]. Collaber' features will soon include online account management for mobiles [1]. Editors are context sensitive with wizards improving file and picture sharing. Discussions and Chat tools features a time line and instant messaging with attachments. A review by Business Hacks [4] points out the value of the quantity of services Collaber offers its users and also mention the quality of interactive visuals used to enhance the user' experience of the software. Features include [1]: * Searchable contacts with changeable status and profile * Instant messaging with file and picture sharing * Drag and drop functionality to share files and folders * Task management tools to assign tasks to members and track progress * Application tool designer * Discussions, Wiki's and polls

A review by PR-inside.com [3] of Collaber' features view the highlights as: * Web version with unified account * Multi calendar with similar functionality to Google App's Calendar * Improved HTML editor * Keyboard short cuts * Advanced alerts and support * Compatibility with web applications, especially attractive to application store developers * New filters enabling items found by tags, date, members, status and more References: [1] Collaber (2007). Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.collaber.com [2] SoftSea (n.d.). 'Online Project Management'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.softsea.com/review/Collaber.html [3] PR-inside (2007). 'Web based multi-platform collaboration software released'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.pr-inside.com/print1414291.htm [4] BNet insight (2009). 'Collaborate in an online share workspace with Collaber'. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=3648

Colaab is an online collaborative workspace where Health Practitioners, Recruitment Agencies, Event Managers, Retailers, Study Groups, Artists, Designers, Writers and Publishers can share, annotate and respond to images, videos, documents, audio and a wide variety of other files in real time [1]. Colaab has version tracking and audit-trail feedback allowing users to monitor creations, responses, edits and annotations immediately, without having to press the refresh button [1]. What makes Colaab distinctive from other online collaborative frameworks is the "DeepZoom" feature which allows users to instantly load a 50 mb file and then zoom right into one pixel of that file without any degradation of the image view [1]. Colaab has been tested on many of the popular web browsers and requires the web-browser plug-in; Microsoft Silverlight for its functionality [2]. Users can opt for the free 30 day trial and/or a tiered package that is priced to suit varying needs [1]. Secure (SSL) is available on the Ultimate 25GB package [3]. The Colaab dashboard has an intuitive, easy-to-use design and the tour is a great way to see the many features that this online collaborative tool has to offer [4]. Compared to similar products, Colaab is very highly regarded by reviewers [5]. For people interested in the background of Colaab, their development team have left a trail of information of what functionality that they wanted to create in their fast, lightweight, real-time "killer web app" [6]. see References below

Colaab provides users with a safe and secure environment to exchange ideas. Colaab is browser based, so no-downloading, and this makes the software very attractive. Along with DeepZoom, another strength Colaab has is the ability to create three "different levels of Workspace access (Organiser, Participant, Viewer) make controlling user permissions and privileges very easy indeed" [1]. Colaab suggests that the product is particularly useful for design projects that involve professions such as web designers, writers, architects, etc., that require communication and collaboration. This statement can be validated in a recent article concerning the art, media and design department of the University College of Falmouth. "Colaab is allowing us to enhance and develop these skills for a still more diverse cohort collaborating professionally across a range of disciplines within art, media, design and performance - be they on campus, in work or at home" [2].

How does Colaab compare to other online collaboration tools? ProofHQ and ConceptShare are two alternatives, but what sets Colaab ahead? ProofHQ [3] offers clients a collaborative suite suitable for design projects and is also browser-based. "You upload a design, graphic or object you want feedback on. Next you set who can participate in providing feedback" [4]. ConceptShare [5] is another "application for sharing creative work, like photos and layouts. It's targeted at a niche of users (designers and their clients), but it could bring Web-enabled collaboration to a large number of people" [6]. So how does Colaab stand? Poole, a contributor of Web Worker Daily, suggests that "compared to the others... that serve a similar purpose, this app is far superior aesthetically. The UI is elegant and clean, with a rich interface thanks to Microsoft Silverlight 2" [7]. Whatever collaboration platform a company chooses, Colaab will definitely stand out in the designer's selection. References/Notes [1] Colaab.com features, http://colaab.com/Home.mvc/About [accessed April 9, 2010]. [2] Storm Ideas Blog, University College Falmouth to collaborate using Colaab, http://blog.stormideas.com/archive/2010/02/01/university-college-falmouth-to-collaborate-using-colaab.aspx [accessed April 9, 2010]. [3] ProofHQ, http://www.proofhq.com/ [accessed April 9, 2010]. [4] Stern, A., (2008). ProofHQ Offers Online Group Editing in a Blog or Browser, Center Networks, Article: August 26, 2008, http://www.centernetworks.com/proofhq-group-design-editing [accessed April 9, 2010]. [5] ConceptShare, http://www.conceptshare.com/ [accessed April 9, 2010]. [6] Needleman, R., (2007). Top 5 under the radar companies, CNet News, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-9701266-2.html?tag=mncol [accessed April 9, 2010]. [7] Poole, P., (2009). An Elegant Option for Collaborative Content Review, Web Worker Daily, http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/01/13/an-elegant-option-for-collaborative-cont

When pulling people together to work on a collaborative project, project management is essential. Basecamp is a popular web based, project management software application. It offers * dashboard (to control projects) * to do lists, * message boards, * file sharing, (files are actually stored on your server) * tracking milestones and * project tracking. Basecamp is used to manage teams and projects allowing you to set milestones, todos, comments, file uploads and messages. You can also organize your business in companies and invite different people for different companies. [1] [2] It works with Internet Explorer 7 or 8, Firefox 3 and higher, Safari 4, and Chrome 4 browsers.[2] Users report finding Basecamp very effective in managing projects, posessing an elegant user interface, and easy to use. [5] [6] 37Signals offer a 30 day free download to try and then you sign up for one of four available plans ranging in price from $24/month for a basic, 15 project, 5GB limit to a $149/month, unlimited projects, 75GB limit. All plans allow an unlimited number of users and you subscribe on a month by month basis with no minimum term. [3] Basecamp works with a variety of iPhone apps, third-party billing/invoicing tools, mock-up review software, time tracking tools, widgets and using Basecamp API you can create your own extras and add-ons. [4]

Project managers understand the importance of communicating effectively with both their team and clients in order to bring a project in on time and within budget. One solution is to have a central communications centre that is accessible to everyone involved in the project and easy to use. Basecamp project management software offers an easy online solution for tracking and organising all aspects of a project from start to finish. Organising and monitoring all phases of a project online can be easier to accomplish using Basecamp's internal dashboard. The dashboard facility centralises communication by maintaining task lists and a common message board to keep the project running smoothly. Files can be uploaded for sharing and review by other team members and clients can be kept up-to-date on the progress of their project. Within one central location, tasks and resources can be assigned to team members and project milestones can be set and monitored. (Reynolds, 2009) Basecamp offers a 30-day free trial, so potential customers can evaluate their needs and decide whether or not Basecamp is adequate for their online project management tasks. There are a multitude of third party plug-ins of extras and add-on tools built around Basecamp, that allow users to tailor their system to suit their own specific needs and to assist with more advanced functionality and security (basecamphq, 2010) - such as the file backup and archiving for Basecamp products that is available at http://www.centripetalsoftware.com/.

References Basecamp extras and integrations via the API. (2010). Project management, collaboration, and task software: Basecamp. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://basecamphq.com/extras Online Data Retrievel, Basecamp Backup - Centripetal Software. (2010). Online Data Retrievel, Basecamp Backup - Centripetal Software. Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.centripetalsoftware.com/ Reynolds, D. (2009, December 18). Basecamp Software – A Review of the Online Project Management Software. Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today! Retrieved April 7, 2010, from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/1726.aspx

WebEx Online Classroom is the perfect tool for providing live just-in-time online instructor-led training or self-paced training to employees, partners and clients where participants can access either service from their web browser at any time from any place. WebEx Online Classroom allows for easy e-learning/e-training content creation and delivery and with the added e-commerce feature one could turn their in-house training service into a profit-earning centre. [1] Instructors are able to set up remote 'labs' for participants to practice on during any stage of the program, create polls or quizzes, receive instant feedback or track participation and attendance along the way. They are also able to record and archive. [1] WebEx Online Classroom allows for presentation sharing, streaming media or live video, interact in 'real-time' with the participants as well as passing control from user-to-user and share applications simultaneously. [1] Real-time demonstrations provide strategic advantages with respect to: [2] [3] * Rolling out new products faster * Accelerating customer usage of your products * Training new reps and partners * Bringing employees up to speed on new applications * Providing and/or improving remote support to your IT department and client base * Re-train or re-skill personnel who have been injured and/or returning to the workforce [4] The WebEx application has now been made available, free of charge, to Apple iPhone and iPad users. This means that the aforementioned training applications can be delivered to students who are on the move. It also delivers the traditional benefits of WebEx, i.e. virtual meetings and subsequent collaboration, sharing and annotation as well as individual or group chat sessions. [5]

Although predominantly marketed as a web based training tool for small-medium businesses, Webex offers a stable platform for collaboration in the educational sector. Steve Mackenzie is Distance Learning Development Team Leader in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at De Montfort University. He compares the usability and effectiveness of three web conferencing tools; Wimba, Webex and WiZiQ. He uses them as live online learning tools and his practical experience makes him well qualified to compare them. Mackenzie believes that technology should be invisible. He compares things like logging in, audio quality, whiteboard tools, feedback tools, the general environment look and feel, recording of sessions and of course support, he places more importance on the user interface and how much the tool maximises interaction. [1] Mackenzie's verdict is that Webex is the pick of the bunch providing a stable, least problematic web conferencing environment. He regards it as the easiest to log into and by far has the most appealing look and feel for participants and is easy to work with for teachers. [1] This is supported by other software review sites. [2] [3] One of WebEx's features has been its development of applications for iPhone. Users can view and join meetings and conferences from their phone, making collaboration possible away from their Internet-connected computers. [3]

References: [1] Mackenzie, S. (2009). The Three Dubya's - Wimba, Webex and WiZiQ. Learnadoodledastic Retrieved 31 March 2010, from http://learnadoodledastic.blogspot.com/2009/09/dubyadubya-dubya-wimba-webex-and-wiziq.html [2] GiveMeaReview. (2010). Webex Review. Givemeareview.com Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://www.givemeareview.com/online-meeting/webex.html [3] TopTenREVIEWS. (2010). Web Conferencing Review: Webex. Retrieved 14 April, 2010, from http://web-conferencing-services.toptenreviews.com/webex--review.html

Huddle is a secure, affordable, online project management tool that is fully customisable with a range of dashboard widgets and tools that can be turned on or off to meet a specific project's needs [1]. Users can upload large 2GB files and a team can be made up of an unlimited number of users [2]. Online conferences, or face-to-face meetings can be added to the dashboard's calendar and individual or group tasks can be added or allocated [3]. Huddle allows users to work on MS Word and Excel files online, with automated versioning and audit trails. Files can be set up with custom access (permission) levels according to the team leader's requirements. Automated emails can be customised to notify teams and team-leaders of calendar events, versioning and file changes [3]. Web conferencing and desktop sharing can be implemented via the live.huddle.net interface [4]. Huddle has provided a collaborative business solution for government, enterprise, IT, marketing, retail, manufacturing, charity and education sectors. Case studies from big and small companies attest to the benefits of using Huddle [5]. Toshiba, Nokia, UNICEF & Harvard University have enjoyed the benefits of using Huddle's collaborative capabilities and Huddle is free for registsered charities [6]. Huddle's intuitive, user friendly interface makes project collaboration easy, even for users with no prior experience in the field of project management, and its free iPhone application makes it even easier for users to contribute when they are out of the office [7]. -------------------------------- see References below

Box.net (2010) and Huddle.net (2010) seem to offer the same kind of features and all the sources seem reliable. Huddle offers a few more perks than Box.net, in that it has a dashboard with everything that needs to be done on one screen; this is vital for keeping employees in the loop and keeping productivity at its high. For a business that has multiple employees spaced out over a wide geographical rage, Huddle.net has a built in web conferencing aspect which allows everyone to view presentations as if they were all in the same room. Huddle.net offers features that are found in Box.net and Radvision's (2010) SCOPIA Desktop. Real world case studies offered by Huddle.net prove valuable when it comes time for that decision to be made on what product to use. This addresses how Huddle.net can be implemented into a running business, with minimal overhead and disruption. Both Box.net and Huddle.net allow for synchronous and asynchronous communication and collaboration. This is good for employees in different time zones or for those who are on the move. Prices of cause will vary depending on the size of the business and the services it offers. With a list of well accredited names on board, it seems Huddle will be best suited for an all-in-one online collaboration tool and is suitable for this project. References: Box.net (2010). Complete List of Features Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://www.box.net/features/complete_list huddle.net (2010). Take the Tour Retrieved March 30, 2010, from https://www.huddle.net/take-the-tour/ radvision.com (2010). SCOPIA Desktop Video Conferencing Retrieved March 30, 2010, from http://www.radvision.com/Products/Video-Products/Desktop-Video-Communications/

Originally suggested by Meryl Olait http://groups.diigo.com/group/net-308-at-oua/content/user/merylolait on: 29/3/2010 .http://venturebeat.com/2007/11/13/huddle-another-online-collaboration-system-for-businesses/ This review is from VentureBeat; a site that covers news and profiles about innovation companies. According to this investment review in 2007, Huddle received US$4million from Eden Ventures; an investment company of "serial entrepreneurs with strong seed investment track record, creating business of lasting value." Huddle's mission statement is "to be the world's best online B2B collaboration platform" Huddle's target market is the corporate market with a impressive list of corporate customers; Boots, Panasonic, Nokia, Kerry Ingredients, Kia Motors and many more. Important features for companies will be Huddle's ability to store Microsoft Word and Excel documents as well as a online office on iPhone application , intranet, extranet, file sharing, team collaboration and project management tools even when they do not operate within the same firewall. Huddle won the Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Social Fest competition for "Leverage SharePoint into [your] existing product". http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/04/microsoft-sharepoint-socialfest/ Huddle received honourable mention in the ReadWriteWeb Top 10 International Web Products of 2009. http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/top_10_international_web_products_of_2009.php

Share. Collaborate. Communicate. [1] Glasscubes is all about file sharing, intranets, contact management and document management. [1] It is an application that is ideal for maintaining customers, employee relations and dealing with issues in a real time collaborative feed. The 'cubes' part refers to workspaces where access is assigned to various individuals or departments within and external to the company. Glasscubes is a UK company with the highest audience base, as per Alexa.com, from South Korea, India, United Kingdom and United States [2]. The application allows for real-time editing of office, pdf and image files online so that users know they will be editing the latest update. Users can share calendars, if they require, and in March 2010 Glasscubes announced its calendar synchronization for active employees. "Glasscubes... announced that its online-based collaboration software now allows users to synchronise calendars directly with Google Calendars, or to view (read only) events in other calendaring applications that support the iCal format"[3]. Adding to this announcement Glasscubes has also been accepted into the "Google Apps Marketplace" [4].

Glasscubes brings together a multitude of features specifically intended to help small and medium sized organisations share files, collaborate on documents, and manage key elements of their online operations securely. (Miles, 2009) Each Cube is a workspace with a dashboard providing a comprehensive summary of activities within the Cube and a secure area for documents. Every Cube also has its own calendar that can be merged with other personal or business calendars for a full overview and to ensure bookings and deadlines do not clash with each other. (Harris, 2009) Glasscubes requires no add-ons and files are backed up daily, but it falls short of Basecamp's (http://basecamphq.com/ ) robust and structured method of document management and sharing and there is no support - either included or as add-ons, for milestones, reporting and analytics. (Harris, 2009) Like Basecamp, Glasscubes was designed for small businesses and is limited when it comes to working with large clients and teams that have multi-level, frequently changing tasks that don't require all members to see everything at all times. For larger organisations, Salesforce (www.salesforce.com ) can be scaled up for customer relationship management and offers more functionality, such as email support. (Harris, 2009) As an online service for small businesses, Glasscubes is a competitively priced Web-based project management tool with ample collaborative features to help link up with colleagues and clients anywhere there is an Internet connection. Unlike many customer relationship management tools, Glasscubes is simple to use even without extensive training or technical knowledge. (Miles, 2009)

References Glasscubes: Online intranet, workspaces and simple CRM. (n.d.). Share. Communicate. Collaborate. - Glasscubes: Online intranet, workspaces and simple CRM. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.glasscubes.com/ Harris, C. (2009, November 13). Glasscubes Review | Business Computing World. Business blogging and technology reviews - Business Computing World. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/?p=1512 Miles, S. (2009, December 26). Glasscubes ‚ Facilitating Communication and Collaboration - Reviews by AppVita. AppVita.com - Discovering web-based applications that just make life better. - Reviews by AppVita. Retrieved April 8, 2010, from http://www.appvita.com/2009/12/26/glasscubes-%E2%80%93-facilitating-communication-and-collaboration/

Confluence is commercial intranet software produced by Attlassian. It comes in both hosted or dowload options. It is an enterprise Wiki suited to larger organisations as it allows teams to collaborate and manage knowledge. It provide a single place where people can create, share, comment and edit content together. It comes with source code so it can be integrated with the organisations existing systems and processes.[1] [4] Reportedly it is in use in over 8,100 organisations in 94 countries around the globe across government, education and technology sectors. There is a catalogue of over 100 plug-ins available. The plug-in architecture allows organisations to develop their own.[4] Spaces are created for teams and individuals and permission access secures these spaces. It appears to balance user-friendliness, functionality, scalability and security [3] In using this wiki software as a project management tool users report that it feels polished and professional and is a notch above other offerings like Basecamp or MediaWiki (the platform that powers Wikipedia)[2] [3]. Descriptions like "more robust" and a "real workplace tool' [3], "world's most popular" [4] and the evidence that this product enjoys an active open source community creating plug-ins for all to use, signifies its value in the workplace.[3]

The exchange of information easily and freely in modern business would have to be considered necessary to survive. As stated by Happel (2009) "Exchanging information is vital for the success of modern organizations." Confluence by Atlassian provides a Wiki type service for business that allows the exchange of information. One of Confluences strengths is that it can be adapted and integrated into an organizations system to ensure productive process. Confluence has been adapted and used for collaborative group projects. Some of the reasoning for this is as follows: The Australian Research Council's Network for Early European Research (NEER) uses confluence for interaction with its digital base repository PioNEER. Burrows (2008) states that "Confluence is marketed as 'enterprise Wiki' software, which simply means Wiki-type software with various additional features, including the ability to control access to specific spaces and pages." And that a key element in the process of designing new structure is interoperability between Confluence and PioNEER. Networking Computing's, Anderson (2006) states that "Our Editor's Choice, Atlassian Software Systems' Confluence 2.1.2, has all the features that suit an enterprise wiki. It's easy to install and set up, yet flexible and extensible." Infoworld ranked Confluence highest out of four Wiki Collaboration tools compared and Heck, 2007 stated "It doesn't go overboard with extraneous features, yet still stuffs in an amazing amount of functionality - all surrounded by a good-looking, friendly interface." As a business collaboration and knowledge management tool Confluence offers a wide range of flexibility at competitive pricing.

References Enterprise Collaboration and Wiki Software - Confluence . (n.d.). Atlassian - Software Development Tools and Collaboration Software . Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/ Anderson, R. (2006, March 30). Review: Wikis In The Enterprise - Network Computing. Network Computing. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.networkcomputing.com/unified-communications-voip/review-wikis-in-the-enterprise.php?p=5 Burrows, T. (2008). DEVELOPING A DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR A HUMANITIES RESEARCH NETWORK: THE PIONEER PROJECT. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 13(1), 1-11. Happel, H. (2009). Social search and need-driven knowledge sharing in Wikis with Woogle. International Symposium on Wikis, 13. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from the Acm Portal database. Heck, M. (2007, January 5). Wikis evolve as collaboration tools | Applications - InfoWorld. Business technology, IT news, product reviews and enterprise IT strategies - InfoWorld. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.infoworld.com/t/applications/wikis-evolve-collaboration-tools-644