Zoho Sheet - Ghosting Flights

This year really has seen little difference, We are running our hardware locations from an Access database, the hardware moves are being planned on a spreadsheet, our web development is in a Project, and we have used thousands of little pieces of paper and legal pads… However, the platform has changed a bit.  Instead of using Microsoft Products for most of the main applications, this summer we are using the Zoho Suite of applications to work a bit more collaboratively in some areas.  My Internet Assistant and I are sharing a Zoho Projects 2.0 file to plan her development for both our webserver upgrade and the development of our new site leveraging the Joomla content management system.  In addition, most of the work I have done to prepare lists for our hardware moves and re-purposing have been done by leveraging Zoho DB and Reports to create quick pivot tables and then print the underlying data. (I created the filtered multi-level pivot table for our outbound inventory in about 5 minutes in Zoho… as opposed to working for almost an hour in Access to create the same thing…) One other tool from Zoho we are leveraging is Zoho Sheet for the tracking and shared updating of our “Ghosting” (re-imaging) schedule (image above).

Now even though I have used the Zoho Suite for about 3 years, I am still far from digging deep into each of the tools overall, and this years push for Zoho to fully integrate their applications has really increased the ease of use and simplicity for integration into typical business practices.  I would really like to leverage more of their suite into my typical daily practices, but it is hard when the rest of the environment you work in is resistant to change.  In addition, since as a group overall (typical also in many many businesses) we barely scratch the surface of all of the tools and uses for the Microsoft suite of programs as well, so where is the draw to other tools in the average company especially when we/they are paying a good sum of money for Microsoft licensing…

Overall, the biggest benefit that I/we have seen for using the Zoho Suite of tools is the automatic collaborative nature of a “cloud” application.  I love the fact that I can be anywhere with an internet connection and a web browser and I have access to my files.  Depending on platform, (iPhone or computer) I can update those files as well.  It is also exciting that I/we are always using the latest version of a document regardless of who made the latest change AND we are not limited to being on our work network (hoping another person in NOT in the file we want to update at that moment). However, the real excitement is collaborating live and real-time in the applications.  This experience was the genesis for this blog post.

Yesterday we began imaging our entire building to prepare the computers for the beginning of the new school year.  In the past we have tracked this either on paper, or in an Excel spreadsheet (typically in Excel).  While Excel is great for tracking the various stages of imaging (a simple data dump from our inventory database and we are set) it is very limiting for real-time updates or even having more than one person in that file at a time.  So for this year, I opted to NOT do the usual.  As opposed to completing the data dump, (although I could have easily uploaded the information into Zoho Sheet as well) I decided to create a Zoho Sheet and began setting up our “Ghosting Flights” – the rooms to be ghosted at one time. Then I shared this sheet simply by entering my Network Specialist and Network Technicians email addresses and we were off.  While I created the initial structure and entered the initial classroom list, my NS saw that I had some o the flights crossing vLans (crossing vLans does not work well with Symantec’s Ghost – it often quadruples the imaging time making a 40 minute image take 5 hours to complete if it does at all…) so he simply modified the flight room assignments to accommodate, and they were off ghosting with my NT always having the latest information as opposed to having saved a previous version and operating off old information.

I mentioned real-time updates… Here is the experience I had this morning.  For the past week most of my family has been ill and I am at crunch-time at work to get everything ready.  As such, I have been leaving at about 5:30am to get to work an arriving back home between 6-7pm… Needless to say it has been a it stressful in the household for my wife having to hold everything own (figuratively and literally) when I have not been there for support.  So, while Trish slept in this morning, I was giving my sons a bath.  However, two of my staff members were at school working to make a dent in the afore mentioned ghosting of the school classrooms.  Aside from feeling a bit guilty or both my work-life and home-life, I wanted to check in and see how things were going without interrupting the process.  Because we are leveraging Zoho sheet, all I needed to do was to open the shared Ghosting Flights sheet that we are using and viola! I have all the information I needed at my fingertips.  I could never have done this using Microsoft Excel (maybe next year with Office 2010 but that is a future post).  As a side benefit, Zoho Chat has been integrated into most of the Zoho Suite of apps, so I was able to have a quick chat with them for a few minutes to clarify some of the things I was seeing… All in all, PRETTY COOL!

Note: cross-posted at http://scottweidig.spaces.live.com

Well it is a new day, and we have “Sprung Forward” (Day Light Savings Time, US) so I am continuing my adventures in the cloud… I almost feel like I am renewing a new year’s resolution.  Interesting feeling…

Im my press forward to continue my adventures, I recently needed to do a clean install of my OS as, even against Microsoft’s own recommendation, I upgraded my Tablet’s Vista Ultimate install to Windows 7.  While the Upgrade went very smoothly, I had a some software that just did not want to play well in the Win7 environment… Also, it just reinforced why I never recommend a upgrading an OS, ALWAYS do a clean install!  Interestingly, one of Microsoft’s own packages (Live One Care – AV-Firewall-Anti-Spam) in not compatible with Win7 and it let me know that all the time.

So last week, I migrated all of my data to my 16GB Corsair USB Drive, and performed a clean install of Windows 7.  Ok, well I actually did the install twice. The first time, I upgraded to the 32bit version and it only took about 15 minutes total (now that was pretty cool).  However, I have a 64bit Intel Core2Duo processor, and I wanted to try out a 64bit OS, so I went through the OS install again with the Windows 7 64bit installer this time.  It took about 25 minutes for the 64bit install (again not to shabby).

Now, up into the “Clouds.”  I am really working hard NOT to install Microsoft Office 2007 at this point.  As I know that this will force me to truely use an online office suite.  My choice (not any big guess for this choice for those of you who know me) for an online office suite is Zoho.com.  While there are a number of reasons or this choice, Number 174 is blogging right from Zoho Writer, and Zoho’s use of Google Gears for “offline” editing and document creation, and Number 190 Zoho’s support for the iPhone which gives me access to almost ALL of Zoho’s application suite right on my iPhone! That said, to simplify my life a bit, I am using Outlook 2007 because it is allowing me to leverage Apple’s Mobile Me application to join my corporate email / calendar to my iPhone. I tried hard to use Zoho’s business suite (with mail and calender), but I found that I need my phone to “ping” me when I have an upcoming appointment… if it doesn’t, I sometimes don’t get where I need to be :0( I have put the word out to Zoho that I would really appreciate it if they could develop a true iPhone application that would sync with the iPhone mail / calendar / contacts… for now, I check my Zoho Business account regularly, but not enought to keep me from missing meetings.

Tomorrow will be a real test for me I think.   am going to be converting my current inventory database into Zoho DB and Creator so that I can begin running reports against the data to start planning for my technology bid and summer moves and technology repurposing. With the clean install of Windows 7 and Zoho Business Suite, so far I can say, the air is fine up here “in the cloud” want to come up and join me?

Photo Attribution: People, Clouds, and Triumph by cuellar

After the class, I had a number of the class members provide me with email addresses, or ask to be kept up to date on new and interesting things out in the webverse (ok, I made that word up… like it?) As opposed to creating an email with some (what I feel are must have resources) I thought that I would blog about them, and point my classmates here.

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. Additionally, Ryan Bretag had an interesting post yesterday about “streamlining” the amount of resources you use.

Here I was using Diigo, Delicious, Google Notebook, and Zotero for my researching, bookmarking, annotating, and sharing. While all strong tools in their own right, it is pretty clear looking at this list that this is what some would call OVER DOING IT!

I am in complete agreement. I have found that as new tools arise, we often keep adding (overwhelming to maintain) or are reluctant to replace due to the effort it took in getting things you have setup. 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

http://notebook.zoho.com/nb/public/sweidig/book/3946000000023213

I came away with more questions than answers.  Now while David Warlick would relate that that is a good thing, (and I often agree) in this instance I didn’t feel that way.

The session focused on two main “tools” (wikispaces and class blogmeister) for both the delivery of hands on practice (wikispaces) and the awareness of the second one (class blogmeister). Unfortunately, for me the session was far too one sided.  There were a few times that the participants really came forward with strong discussions bringing a myriad of viewpoints to bear on a topic, but this was more the exception than the rule for the session.

There is no one at fault for this neither instructor or participants.  We all worked well in the framework which the session was designed, and part of the design was to get individuals to use these tools… but it did feel silly at times a with 15 people sitting in a room NOT talking, but typing to each other in a threaded wiki discussion forum…

Please feel free to review my notes, but I wwould also love to get your thoughts and feedback on some of the questions that I am still struggling with wrapping my brain around like:

~ What are the implications for learning?

~ What are the implications in opening up conversations with PARENTS and students as well as OTHER classrooms around the world?

~ What are the concerns that should be raised when teachers act outside the district walls using web 2.0 applications and resources…?

~ Should administrators create a sense of transparency in their practices through using blogs to create a communication vehicle with parents and the community at large?

~ What is the role of web 2.0 in the “new” view of Professional Development?

~ How can we leverage technology to (in essance) give time back to teachers? Unfortunately, this is not the perception of technology for educators… what are the collective thoughts around shifting this paradeigm for teachers?

Ok That is just a few of the questions still rattling around in my brain tonight. Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Scott

[Cross-posted at http://myiltce.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1239424%3ABlogPost%3A10314]