While I have not b

een a huge fan of Google Notebook, I have used it and showcased it in a presentation on Digital Notebooks at the IETC 2008 Conference last November.  I know that many educators really liked using Google Notebook.  Now overall for existing users it appears that Google will maintain the Notebook service as it is:

we’ll continue to maintain service for those of you who’ve already signed up. As part of this plan, however, we will no longer support the Notebook Extension, but as always users who have already signed up will continue to have access to their data via the web interface at http://www.google.com/notebook. – Raj Krishnan, Product Manager, Google Notebook

The loss of the Notebook extension I think will be a bigger hit to users as it made it so easy to grab thoughts and ideas… Ironically, on January 12, 2009 Will Richardson blogged about his reading practices and archiving the snippets of web-based thought that challenge him:

I’m growing increasingly enamored withe Google Notebook as a way to capture the best snippets and ideas for a variety of purposes. More and more, I read with an ear for saving the most salient parts, which is really challenging me to think of my own organizational schemes in a good, but somewhat frustrating way. – Will Richardson, Weblogg-ed.com

I hope that everyone finds a new tool that meets their needs for gathering, organizing, and leveraging digital content.  I would like to provide a an alternative, that to those of you who know me well will not be surprised… Zoho Notebook… I have always felt that Zoho provided a much more robust tool for gathering a plethora of different types of information be it text, audio, video, embedded, graphical and much more.  Additionally, 6 days after Google’s announcement Raju Vegesna, Zoho Evangelist, posted that Zoho had altered the Zoho Notebook firefox plugin to enable an import from a users Google Notebooks into Zoho Notebook.  Detailed directions are included in his post, but for some reason, the link within my Zoho Notebook in Flock did not take me to the location I needed… So, here are the instructions if you are looking to try.  The add-on worked flawlessly for me within Flock:

To import with ease, you can use our add-on for Mozilla Firefox.
Install or upgrade to Zoho Notebook Helper 1.0b2
On restarting Firefox, please point your browser to chrome://zoho-notebook/content/g2z.html and follow the instructions given there.

OR

To import your notebooks from Google Notebook into Zoho Notebook, please upload Google Notebook as Atom(.xml).
You can export your Google Notebook as Atom in Google Notebook’s interface.
Step 1: Click Manage notebooks on the left hand side.
Step 2: Click export on which notebook you want to export.
Step 3: Click Atom, You will be prompted to save a file. Save that file to your disk.
Step 4: Now click Browse or Choose file button provided below, to select the saved file.
Step 5: Click Import.

I also have heard (but not confirmed) that Evernote is looking to develop a similar import tool.

On a final note, Google is stopping it’s print ads business as well… In no way is Google hurting, but this is the first time I have seen them pull back … many are speculating what else will be getting cut as well… We all know 2009 will be a difficult year for everyone, but together we can and will get through these hard times.  For the last two years I have been enamored with Zoho, and hope that you will give Zoho Notebook a try.

Alright here we go… since I used examples as opposed to a concrete presentation the six topics below begin to flesh out the information that we went through in the session.  Additionally, I will continue building out each topic as I have been lax in that area.  Links to the expanded information are below this post.

Now this by NO means is planned to be a complete list, an expansive list, or even dare I say it the “best of the best” but they are good solid resources that should help to guide folks in a direction. Remember there ARE and will always be alternatives.

However, I do recommend settling on a set of tools and growing with them until you really outgrow them. So, to avoid feeling overwhelmed, look to see where you feel you need a tool to help simplify what you do, enhance what you do, and or expand what you offer.

On to my choices.

[side note: while writing this post I came to the conclusion that I need to break out each of these resources into separate posts to provide more information as well as links to possible educational uses to add value to the WHY should you add these types of resources to your arsenal of learning and teaching tools.]

Additionally, I wanted to provide a category for each set of resources so if the one I mention doesn’t meet your needs you can do a quick search to find another. As an overview, I would recommend getting an online resource for: office applications, bookmarking, photo sharing, RSS newsreader, notebook / annotation, tagging, and social networking. If you look hard at this list, it becomes apparent that most (if not all) of these resources can be handled by offline Microsoft products (IE, Outlook, OneNote, Live Photo Gallery).

The main reason I recommend moving these resources online is for the flexibility it provides YOU the user. I’ll come right out and say it… I AM A HUGE FAN OF MICROSOFT, however, that said, I HATE being tethered to one machine (although you will rarely find me without my tablet). With resources floating in the ether you can access them from anywhere there is an internet connection. If you don’t think that this is important ask yourself a couple of questions: Have you ever really needed a link that you know you saved on your home or school computer and now you are somewhere else? Have you had your personal computer crash the day before a huge presentation / project was due? Have you wanted to connect with others about a topic but did not know where to begin? Well… yes you need to begin moving into the “cloud.”

Social Networking:

twitter – By far twitter has become the one tool above all else that all educators should become involved with. A brief description is that twitter is a microblog… your life in 140 characters or less in the moment that it is happening… but it is so much more. It has revolutionized and become a huge piece of my personal learning network. The amount of targeted and useful instructional information I get from my twitter network is staggering. So much so, I have created a folder in my favorites called “Twitter Links to Review” as I cannot get to everything in real-time… feel free to add me to your network my twitter handle is vanishingpoint

Online Office Suites:

Zoho.com is my choice for office productivity in “the cloud.” The folks at Zoho have created a HUGE suite of applications that well… all work! Writing, Spreadsheet, Presentations, wikis, project management, databases, an online NOTEBOOK and much more. The biggest reason that I really am taken with Zoho is both the integration of their tool set as well as their focus on collaboration. Additionally, they are continuously expanding their offerings. Did I mention that all of their apps are FREE!

RSS Aggregator (reader):

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a tremendous way to simplify your processes in searching and gathering information. In short, once a “feed” is setup, information comes to you as opposed to you hunting for it. My choice of RSS Reader is NewsGator. With NewsGator is pull in news stories from around the world as well as educational and instructional blogs. Additionally, most magazine type services (and all search engines) have RSS feeds embeded into their sites that you can tap into. This type is resource allows you to become a “grazer” of information as opposed to a hunter of information. One of my main criteria for an RSS aggregator was that it would function both online and via a mobile device. The majority of time I access NewsGator through my Motorola Q Global via NewsGator Go!. Additionally, NewsGator allows me to “Clip” a post or piece of information that I find valuable and save it permanently. This is huge as it keeps me from having to use an additional service like Furl for that purpose.

Bookmarking:

I have used Del.icio.us for about a year, and have been very happy ALWAYS having access to my bookmarks and important links. Additionally, with del.icio.us’ use of tagging, I don’t really have to remember the exact name for resources … just a “category” or idea that I have “tagged” the site link with, and poof it is there… even better, I can pull ALL the resources I have tagged with a certain word at one time… and I can share them, and receive links from others in my personal network. The idea of social bookmarking is not new (we have all shared bookmarks and links with friends in the paper world… del.icio.us brings speed and efficiency to this process. Lee Lefever has a great video that explains social bookmarking well.

Recently there has been a TON of twitter traffic about Diigo. While I have not used it at all, I am beginning to investigate it and its possible uses. Kristin Hokanson wrote an excellent blog post called Dig-ging… Diigo today about the power and value of Diigo which provides compelling reasons to switch and consolidate a number of resources to Diigo… Here is a link to my new Diigo profile.

Photo Sharing:

I absolutely LOVE Flickr! Flickr like others allows anyone to upload photo and share them with family, friends, and or the world. I use the camera in my Motorola Q Global daily, and mms my photos immediately to flickr (and a number of other folks) through my phone. This way my family around the world can see my kids and the things I am getting involved in well… daily! My flickr account is even linked to my blog… look to the left to see what pictures I took today

NoteBook:

If you have used Microsoft OneNote, or have wished that you could move ANY type of information into a digital notebook that you can annotate, enhance, or share, you really need to look at Zoho Notebook. Think of it as a digital three-ring binder that you can put ANY information, resource, tool (live or static) into. You can then collaborate with other on it, or share the entire notebook, a page, or even an object with anyone! You can even publish it for the world to see. Here are a couple of examples from notes that I took during a conference sessions at IL-TCE 2008. Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 (Example 3 shows quite a bit of the capabilities of Zoho Notebook).

This post has grown exceeding long and I an exceedingly tired… If you have thoughts or comments, I am welcome to all views!

Scott

Photos from Flickr: Dazed81, just Mike is fine and Lady Ying

Related Posts:

• In the Cloud Expanded – Part 1 Professional Social Networking
• In the Cloud Expanded – Part II RSS Aggragators
• Digital Notebooks for Research, Clarity, and Organization

Coming out of the IETC Conference in Springfield, IL. I have been doing some thinking about my personal practices and how I use the Microsoft Office suite.  I have to say that I LOVE Office 2007.  There are some truly amazing things that you can do so easily in 2007 some of which cannot even be done in other products.  However, that said, I also feel that there are a number of limitations in Office because it simply lives offline.  YOu need to discount what Microsoft says about "Office Live" it is NOT really live, or online in any other way than acting like a file storage area… According to my discussions with Microsoft, Office will be releasing true online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote in the next year or so… we’ll see how that goes. 

On to my premise and the reason behind this post. I gave two presentations at IETC that were really based on "the cloud."  Most if not all of the resources that I referred to in the presentations were completely web-based.  Additionally, almost all of the source material for the presentations came from the net… So, I got to thinking… I use Zoho for some limited docs, I use Zoho Notebook for all of my conference sessions and notebooks as well as for a number of other things, I use Zoho wiki for my personal and VP’s wiki. Slideshare puked on all 3 of my presentation uploads, but Zoho Show not only accepted them, but I used it to embed them into my session blog posts without an issue… (even though one was 4MB over their "recommended upload size of 10MB), I use Zoho Creator for 2 small applications, and just last week I began using Zoho’s 24×7 site monitoring service to keep tabs on my school’s website.

However, I use each of them when I have a need, not as part of my every day activities… This week I am going to attempt to change that pattern.  This week, I am going to exclusively use the Zoho suite of products for all of my Office activities, minus email (even though Zoho has a great email client) as I need my email / calendar integration to my Motorola Q to survive.

Ok, the question that usually come up at this point is "why Zoho and not Google?" well… while I have used Google’s "Docs and more" apps, they are not nearly as refined or as well integrated as Zoho’s.  Additionally, while Google has a ton of tools geared around their strength of search, Zoho’s tools are completely geared around Business apps and the Office suite.  They are tighter and more robust as well…

Please feel free to argue with me on that point.  I am always open to learning more about any tool that will assist student learning and increase efficiency.

I will update with challenges and successes in the coming days. I will tell you it was great to see that with very small changes to the slide master for each of my IETC presentations they were easily uploaded, converted, and embedded into this blog without issue. WTG Zoho!

That said, each of the 4 tools that I didn’t have entirely enough time to present is a powerful tool in it’s own right.  The most robust being Zoho Notebook, and Microsoft OneNote 2007. However, Evernote and Google Notebook are nice in their own right.  As I mentioned, I use Evernote quite often when I need access to information from my mobile phone (both to upload and retrieve information).  When I do this presentation in the future, I think that I will use 2-4 slides (not PPTPlex as well) instead of the nine, and then I will move more quickly into the tools themselves.  I did not even get to show you all how easy it is to add an RSS feed into Zoho, use drawing tools, review and update a live document and spreadsheet… But, that said it was really cool that except for I think one person, everyone stayed 5 minutes into the prep for the next session.  I guess I also owe a drink to the presenters for the session that follow mine for cutting into their time.

If anyone would like more information about how a Digital Notebook could work for your specific situation please do not hesitate to contact me at vanishingpoint@live.com. These are really amazing tools that can aid students in organization, and honestly using higher order thinking skills.

If you we not able to attend, here is the uStream from the session:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/881104 (sorry embed is not working right now…)

Also, Presentation Information can be found on the Zoho Notobook at: http://notebook.zoho.com/nb/public/sweidig/book/3946000000036053 (By the way that is a Digital Notebook :0)

~ Scott

• Student Engagement in the Digital Age

• Resources to Know and Love

• Using Digital Notebooks for Research, Clarity, and Organization

You can find out more information about each of these presentations by clicking on the IETC 2008 Presentations page above, or on the titles above themselves.  I will be adding the actual presentation decks and any handouts / resources to those pages over the next month.  If you have anything you would be interested in me addressing during these sessions or questions, just drop me a comment.

Below is the conference early-bird announcement.  If you are interested in attending the IETC, or will already be there, look below for some great savings on the conference registration and hotel information. 

See you at IETC 2008!

IETC CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT

The “Early-Bird” reduced conference fee rate for the Illinois Education &
Technology Conference (IETC) is quickly approaching — OCTOBER 10th!
Register online (http://www.il-edtech.org) and postmark your conference fee
payment by Oct. 10 and you’ll be able to attend both days of the conference
for only $125!  (One day registration at the early-bird rate is only $85!)

DATES OF CONFERENCE:  Thursday, Nov. 20 – Friday, Nov. 21, 2008

WHERE:  Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, IL

WHAT IS IETC?  This conference is an exciting opportunity which will offer
educators, technology coordinators, administrators, and others interested in
improving the quality of education, an opportunity to gain information and
exchange ideas on the application of educational technology in our schools.

REGISTRATION:  Register online at http://www.il-edtech.org.  Register AND
mail conference fees by OCTOBER 10 for a reduced conference rate of $125 for
two-day registration or $85 for one-day registration!  (All conference fees
postmarked after October 10th must be made payable at the “Regular”
registration rate of $170 for two-day registration or $95 for one-day
registration.)
The conference fee includes entrance to the conference (140+ concurrent
sessions from which to choose over the course of the two days), continental
breakfasts, keynote luncheons, evening receptions, and entrance to the
exhibit hall Wednesday evening or Thursday. (The exhibit hall closes
Thursday evening.)

WHO SHOULD ATTEND IETC?  Teachers, Technology Coordinators, Administrators, Curriculum Specialists, Media Specialists, Special Education Instructors, School Technical Staff, Business Managers, Community Leaders, Legislators — anyone interested in educational technology!

SESSIONS/KEYNOTES:  140+ concurrent sessions will be offered, and many
sessions will be hands-on in our three computer labs.  Luncheon keynote
addresses will be provided by Vicki Davis on Thursday, Nov. 20, and Hall
Davidson on Friday, Nov. 21.  For keynote information and session offerings,
please visit http://www.il-edtech.org/highlights.html.

EXHIBIT HALL:  The exhibit hall will be open the evening of Wednesday, Nov.
19 (6-8pm) and Thursday, Nov. 20 (7:30am-5:15pm).  Evening receptions in the
exhibit hall will be offered both Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

CONFERENCE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION:  Visit the conference website at http://www.il-edtech.org for current conference information.

Hope to see you there!

-IETC Planning Committee
http://www.il-edtech.org

Right now here is the partial agenda / topics I have for the session:

• Overview of the differences between XP and Vista
• How to choose a Vista Version
• New helpful features in Vista
• How to find and organize your data in Vista
• How to move your old files and data to your new Vista PC
• Demonstrating new entertainment and sharing applications

Session Notes and Information will be maintained in a Zoho Notebook.  You can click here for the notebook (still in development).  Additionally, I will be embedding the notebook on the presentations page of this blog and into the VP Wiki.

I am still going back and forth on building out my own information or leveraging most of Microsoft’s own website.  Also, I am a bit concerned about copyright violation even just screen clipping from my Vista installation…

Finally, I will be uStreaming the entire session at: VanishingPoint (Not sure if I will have chat capabilities through the Mount Prospect Public Library so I may be streaming via BYOB through my Motorola Q Global.)

~Scott

Hi Scott,

As a quick introduction I’m from the WOM World / Nokia, a  Nokia-sponsored platform that covers what’s being said online about  Nokia devices and services.

In addition to the blog, we also run a trial program in which we send  but Nokia devices for test and review. The N95 8GB North American  version is one of the latest releases and we’re seeing social media  users like you would be interested in having the device for three  weeks to put it through its paces.

It has the same spec as the regular N95 8GB, so; 5MP Carl Zeiss lens  camera with auto-focus, full GPS, MP3 player with integrated player  keys, dual sliding action, WIFI, etc. But this version comes with  updated software and full US 3G network support. In addition to being  on Symbian, which means it?s open to literally thousands of  applications, everything from Google maps to Twitter.

If you?re interested in a three week trial let us know. We cover all 
courier costs back and forth and are available for you to contact 
should you have any questions or queries during your trial period.

You can have a look at the WOM World / Nokia at: http://www.womworld.com/nokia

Please get in touch and let us know if this is of interest to you.

Many thanks

Colin and the WOM World / Nokia team

Since that time, Colin and I have been exchanging email on setting up the trial and getting general information out of the way etc.  I am excited about testing out the N95.  For years, I was a “Nokia” guy, but due to size and features, I moved over to the Motorola line with the Razors, and now, I absolutely love my Motorola Q Global from AT&T.

Let me give you some idea of what I use my “phone” for:

• Browsing the internet, I have 3 browsers on it depending on site compatibility.  Opera 8.65 (Full version standard and default browser), Pocket IE (as a backup, also standard on the MQG), and SkyFire (Currently in their closed beta, but it is nice and wil be a separate blog post).
• Twitter – Via TinyTwitter for Windows Mobile 6 (Java version too) great little app.
• NewsGator Go! – my RSS reader of choice… hey did you know that you can now RSS you NewsGator’s article clippings… This is SWEET! Blog post coming on this shortly…
• PHOTOS!  I take about 200+ pictures and videos (like the one below)each month with my phone… it is a 2 MP (the best I could buy last November).  I send the photos to flickr, and about 8 family members very often.

• GPS – I LOVE that the MQG is fully GPS enabled.  I use Microsoft’s Live Search Mobile, and occasionally Google Mobile Maps, Live is SO much better on the phone… for everything from turn by turn directions, to looking up stores, movies, gas prices, names, businesses, contacts to geocaching.  It’s awesome.  No secondary device needed.
• Reading ebooks… I love to read, and my preference for personal and professional literature is digital.  No need to worry about light, no need to worry about carrying something extra, no need to worry about finishing your book and not having another one to read… it is all there in the palm of your hand.  annotation, searching, enjoyment in a neat little bundle.
• Text messaging and instant messaging – this is a huge use of mine.  Wether it is sending pictures and video to family, finding out where everyone is, or just checking in, I send about 800 texts a month.  Recently, I was buying a new printer and wanted to consult with my wife about color laser jet or just B/W I knew she was working on her laptop so I started an IM session with her.  It saved us about $300 (the difference between the color LJ and a wireless print router, and the B/W I bought that had wireless networking built right in).
• Watching satellite TV via my slingbox… While I have only used my phone this way about 8 times, I have the ability to connect to my Direct TV dish from anywhere I can get a cell signal… It has been great when Joshua (4yoa) and I were waiting for Mommy to finish a marathon shopping session and he was REALLY bored and squirley… a bit of Scooby Doo and he was all good again.
• Portable digital notebook.  On the rare occassion that I do not actually have my laptop with me, I take notes, messages, tips, information right onto my phone.  OneNote Mobile syncs my Microsoft One Note 2007 from my laptop right to my phone.  I can push information both ways when I sync… pretty cool.  Recently, I have been playing with Evernote (which just came out of closed beta)… while not nearly as robust as OneNote Mobile, it has the capability to push information right to the web and pull it back.  Additionally, Evernote, syncs with just about every application on my laptop so I have access to my notes at just about any time I have an Internet connection… which with an unlimited data plan and the capability to tether my phone to my laptop is well… just about always…
• Laptop tethering for Internet use… I started tethering about 6 months ago when I was in a conference and could not get a reliable wireless signal.  While I do not do this often, when I do it still amazes me how well the 3G network handles data networking.
• MP3 – Podcast – I use my MQG to listen to music, both satellite radio and music from Rhapsody sync’d to my data card.  Additionally, I have begun podcasting into the internal voice notes application.  I have also used it to record my son’s voices… I have a great recording of Noah laughing
• Oh yeah… and for phone calls…

 I am looking forward to seeing what the N95 capabilities are.  I really like the fact that there is a 5MP camera with Zeiss lens… I can guarantee that I will stress this unit when I get it even if I can only have it for the 3 weeks.  I will keep you aware of how the trial goes once I receive the … ahem… “phone”.

~Scott