Thing 13 Collaboration and sharing

And now something I've already dabbled with and a few solutions that could prove very useful! I already have a Drop Box account. Not particularly for collaboration, but because I work on documents on many different computers. As our school has been undergoing many changes over the summer, this has proved vital in getting access to My Documents, which aren't web-based, but local network based. It does take a bit of forethought as to what should be put into the drop box as the storage is limited, unless I want to pay for more. I've also added in the usernames etc of some of the new systems and services to remind me how to get back to them. Sharing documents with my colleagues is easy as well.  However, to keep my stuff private and share only truely collaborative documents with others I've now explored Google Docs. This will be a godsend in September when we have a new member of staff, so they will be able to access things over the internet, not just the local network. The big advantage over wikis is that Google is NOT BLOCKED by the school web-filter, whereas certain wiki sites that could potentially attract viruses are. I have used wikis in the past (pbwiki being particularly easy to use) to connect book club members together. However, I seemed to be the only one adding comments. I am a member of a local Librarians group that use a wiki. All tools like this have proved useful. Facebook groups seem more productive, as it's the place where most of our members already hang out in cyberspace. The wiki got forgotten very easily. Our school has also recently introduced Google Apps where documents can be edited and shared in real time. Awe inspiring when you first see it. I'm using it to create a library lessons timetable with our Junior School staff. They can sign up whenever they want without having to go through me. My student book groups are also contacted using google apps, where they can comment on anything posted as well, a bit like a blog. This has to be the way forward in our profession.