Tools, Tools, Tools!

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Bill Gates

I agree this is not the most creative title I could think of, but it works. When it comes to evaluate the Web 2.0 tools I have a mix of feelings. In one hand I truly enjoyed learning to put a blog together, but in the other I did run into some technical issues. My first blog seemed so easy that I wondered how come I never tried before. That was until I tried to re-entered my blog and found out that I could not access it because I probably did something wrong during the creation process (yes, that is why was so easy and so fast!) So I let that one hanging there somewhere in cyberspace and started another blog. I was more successful in the process of creating my second blog; However, I don’t think it can be a popular blog. The content is limited and more a reflection writing style that a reader oriented page. I suppose as I practice I could learn more ways to make my blog interesting and appealing.
The second tool we learned to use in this class was the wikis. The wikis it is a tool that help people to interact in “real time” and it works good for group collaboration. I liked, especially the way it helped us to put our team project together. I had used a different tool called Google document in a previous class. Google Document allows you to do corrections and update the document but it works different that the wikis. One thing I liked about wikis was the way our leader color coded our names to indicate where our part of the document needed to be.
Finally, we also used the Blackboard chat room. This tool has taught me a lesson. I was unable to access it from the Bellevue Library because of the security system. That was very surprising to me. I thought that a product that is part of the Blackboard system will be easily access from a location that supports Blackboard. After talking on the phone with the tech I learned that because Java is a third party sometimes the security of the library system does not allow the downloading. I must also mention that I am not computer wise and I don’t have the latest gadgets, or the fastest connection, and newest program. All those details played an important role in how effective the tools are. In other words, I think the collaboration tools are efficient to support collaborative work, but their effectiveness varies, depending of the level of knowledge, the quality of the equipment, the speed of the server and how modern your programs are.
After reflecting on this I had made the decision of holding on in my next online class until I can afford a Laptop with a newer program than my computer. That way I can go to places that have Wi-Fi to get my work down rather than depend on the library or on my home computer!