The My Office application in Facebook allows members to upload files to a central point where other group members can access them. A few of the other features that it has is a whiteboard system where groups can view files and make adjustments on the fly, members can delegate tasks in order to assume responsibilities for various parts of a project, and members can create discussion topics in a forum setting. A calendar is set up that shows when inputted events are due. One of the only things that I could not figure out is how to leave a project after it has been created. Two different people asked me to be part of their assignment 9 projects. I activated both to see if I would be able to drop one of them, thus far I can not find a way to exit other than removing the entire group from my application list.
One of the nicer features of Zoho Project management is the fact that I can see which one of my group members is online. Unfortunately, there is no online way of instant messaging them if I need to tell them about the project or discuss other assignments. Zoho has similar traits to that of My Office, but Zoho is more robust and it’s features are more defined. For instance, Zoho will create Gantt charts, incorporate milestones, so meetings times and minutes, upload documents, post forum topics, and show a global dashboard that displays all recent activity. Projects are also neatly organized on the left side of the screen in a small menu. In order to see if any new info has been done to the projects, the user must click on the project in the side menu to refresh it. This is one of the downsides of Zoho. Members may be working on the same document, or view the document at the same time. This may become somewhat irritating when working on a large project between many partners and many files. This is a good way to keep track of a groups progress. Especially if they are working at a distance.
Yugma is not exactly like the other two programs. Essentially, the program creates a link between your computer and the people who you send an invite to. This link gives the invited members a chance to view what you are doing while you are doing it. For example, say you are creating a website for a grad class on freewebs.com (hypothetically speaking, of coarse) when you are partnered up with 3 people in your class. This is a supposed to be a group project, except none of you are free until 10 pm. So at 10, you jump online and load Yugma and invite your group members. You can share your screen and show your group how you are going about the creation of your idea. In turn, your group can take an active role in adjusting your project, making comments, upload and download files, and talk to you. It is a highly versatile program that can be used in many ways. This is most likely my pick for the next generation of online group collaboration.
Google Calendar is a great tool to keep yourself organized. It is easily integratable with MS Outlook and also can import other calendars. I uploaded my school/work calendar to mine as of recently. The color coding helps track the changes that occur when an even is used. It also has various calendar views that break down the time increments for better viewing. The sharing feature would be a great way to organize group work with other gmail/calendar members.
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