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Collaboration Tools

Now that you have an idea of how the team setting works, it’s time to
learn about the tools that you will need.

Groupware

Collaborative software or groupware are programs or sets of programs

that people use to achieve a common goal. These tools allow people to
share information and communicate with each other even if they are in
different locations. In the ICT community, it is now a common
practice for people in different countries to work together on a single
project.

Types of Groupware

1. Synchronous groupware
These are groupware or collaborative tools that allow the
sharing of information in real-time. This means that the
recipient can instantly see the information that was sent or
shared. Synchronous groupware include but are not limited to:

a. Online chat
This is a technology that enables two or more people to
send and receive short messages instantly. Messages
sent by all parties are displayed in a chat room or chat
box and can be viewed by all members.

b. VoIP
It is safe to say that VoIP is simply an Internet-powered
telephone service. Short for “voice over Internet
protocol”, this technology allows people to make voice
calls through the Internet.

c. Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the collection several ICT
technologies that allow 2 or more people to
communicate through real-time audio and video. The
most popular example is Skype.

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2. Asynchronous groupware
Information shared using asynchronous groupware are not
instantly displayed to other members of the group. Most of the
time, participants are free to choose when they want to view
the shared information. Asynchronous groupware include but
are not limited to:
a. Email
As discussed in a previous chapter, emails are sent and
stored in the receipient’s inbox. The receipient can then
read the email when he logs in.

b. Online forums
Also known as message boards, forums are online
services where people can post messages for others to
read and reply to. Forums are virtually identical to
comment sections in social networking sites.

c. Wiki
By now, you must know what a wiki is. Wikis qualify
as asynchronous collaboration tools because they can
be edited by members of an online community.

d. Shared calendar
A shared calendar is simply an online calendar with
many users. Shared calendars are used by groups to
coordinate time and schadule activities.

What to remember:
Some apps and services have both synchronous and asynchrounous
features. Skype, for example focuses primarily on video conferencing
but also has a feature where users can record and send voice messages.

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Google Drive: Cloud Based Collaboration

As you have learned in the beginning of this course, cloud computing
is currently one of the most powerful and promising ICT technologies.
Now, we will learn the practical applications of cloud computing in a
collaborative environment. In this lesson, we will be exploring Google
Drive.

Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage and sharing service owned

and operated by Google. Google drive is a software suite or a
collection of several programs that allow users communicate and
create, store and share files. Google Drive can be used for free by
anyone with a Google/Gmail account.

My Drive

Video Tutorial: https://youtu.be/jWvKAYKlnnM

My Drive is Google Drive’s home page or main page. Google Drive

productivity apps, which we you will learn about later in this chapter,
can be launched from My Drive. From here, you can also access the
files that you have created as well as the files that other people shared
with you. This is also

How to open My Drive

There are 2 ways to open My Drive. First, in your Gmail account, click
the square icon on the upper right hand of the screen then click the
Drive icon. This will open My Drive in a new browser tab.

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To open My Drive directly, go to drive.google.com. You may have to

log in using your Google (Gmail) account If you haven’t done so
already.

How to upload a file

You can upload any type of file to google drive. There are 2 ways to
do it. The first one is via the “NEW” button:

Step 1. Click the red “NEW” button then click File upload

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Step 2. Select the file that you want to upload.

Step 3. Wait for the upload to finish.

The simpler way to upload a file is by simply dragging and dropping it

to the My Drive page.

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How to share a file

File sharing is one of Google Drive’s primary features. Follow these

steps to share a file that you have uploaded:

Step 1. Right click a file in My Drive then click Share.

Step 2. Enter the name or email address of one or more person whome
you want to share the file with. You can also choose if they will be
allowed to edit the file or if they will be restricted to viewing and
commenting. Once your finished, click Done.

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How to open a file

Files like Word documents, spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentations,

audio, and video can be opened and viewed in Google Drive. If you
doubleclick an uploaded file, Google Drive will analyze it to
determined if it can be opened.

Google Drive Productivity Apps

Source: https://support.google.com/
“Overview of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides”

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are collaborative productivity apps

that are included in Google Drive. They have features and controls that
are very similar to other popular office productivity suites like
Microsoft Office so if you ar familiar with Microsoft Word, Excel, and
Powerpoint then learning Docs, Sheets and Slides will be easy.
Furthermore, Google Drive productivity tools can recognize and open
Microsoft Office file types like doc and xlsx.

There are 2 ways to access these apps. First is by clicking the New
button in My Drive. Doing so will open a list of options that include
Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Simply click one to
get started.

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The second way is to click My Drive then clicking on one of the three
apps.

Real-time collaboration

Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides also allow real-time collaborative

editing, which means that several people can view and edit documents
at the same time. To use this feature, first you have to share your
documents.

Sharing Docs, Sheets, and Slides documents is practically the same as

sharing uploaded files. In all three programs, just click the Share
button on the upper right hand corner. This will open the “Share with
others” window just like the one in My Drive.

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Google Docs

Google Docs is a web-based word processor program. It has features

and controls that are similar to Microsoft Word and LibreOffice
Writer.

Here are some of Google Docs’ features:

 Your documents will be stored in the Cloud. You can log in

and edit your files using any computer that is connected to the
Internet.
 Your work will be constantly automatically saved as long as
you are connected to the Internet.
 Shared documents can be opened and edited by several people
at the same time.
 Your documents can be downloaded in different formats like
Microsoft Word, OpenOffice and PDF

For more lessons about how to use Google Docs, you can visit
https://support.google.com/docs/topic/21008

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Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a Google Drive’s spreadsheet app. It works a lot like

other popular spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel and
LibreOffice Calc.

Google Sheets’ features include:

 Spreadsheet formatting such as font, text color, background

color and text size
 Auto-save functionality
 Spreadsheet sharing and real-time group editing
 Download your spreadsheet as Microsoft excel, PDF, and other
formats

For more instructions on how to use Google Sheets, you can visit
https://support.google.com/docs/topic/20322

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Google Slides

Google Slides is an Google’s presentation app. It looks like and works

a lot like Microsoft Powerpoint. The main difference between the two
is that Slides is cloud based while Powerpoint is native program.

Here are some of its features:

 Ready-made presentation templates

 Add pictures and videos to your presentations
 Import and edit Microsoft Powerpoint presentations
 Presentations can be shared to and viewed by others
 Presentations can be downloaded as other formats such as
Powerpoint, PDF and jpg

Check out Google’s introduction to Slides here:

https://support.google.com/docs/topic/19431

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