Online Tools for Real-time Collaboration

Many of the courses in the Division of Management involve group projects. Often questions arise about how students can work synchronously online in their groups. This posts looks at some options that anyone has access to...and that are free (although some of the fancier features may add cost).


Google Docs & Google Hangout
Pair Google Docs with a conference call or Google Hangout, and you have a decent system to work collaboratively (synchronously or asynchronously) on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Some of the perks include versioning (so you can look at a previous versions). Information is stored in the cloud; so, it's accessible anywhere with an internet connection. There is no need create a gmail account. Instead create a log-in using your own (non Google) email address.

On the downside, formatting can be clunky or slow. Also, just to be safe, proprietary information should not be used with Google Docs given Google's privacy guidelines.

Join.Me
This relatively new, free product allows individuals to share a desktop. Guests can view and - with permission - edit on the hosts computer. I have to say that it's pretty cool. In trying this out, we used our phones to host the voice part. Join.Me has recently added a beta version that includes VOIP that may bundle the visuals and voice into one elegant package. In testing this with just one other person, we did not notice any slow down of processing speed when one person was in control of the editing abilities. When we both had control of the screen, there was some slow down, but more importantly good communication was definitely needed. In larger groups, the moderator would need to allow editing access to one other person at a time in order to avoid chaos and keep things moving (it did slow things down a bit when we were both trying to edit at the same time). Since the file lives on the host's computer, it will need to be disseminated via email or shared in Sakai or Dropbox. Here's a good description as well as step-by-step (with pictures) of how it works.


Skype
Most of us are probably familiar with Skype. You can conference call with a group and exchange files. The free version will also allow for video conferencing with a small number of people. And, if it's just two of you, you can share your screen (view only for one person unlike Join.Me). Additional pros include the ability to transfer files. The paid versions have additional functionality. The conference call feature is available on many smart phones as well as the iPad, which makes this technology a bit more accessible (features on smartphones and tablets are limited).


Oovoo
Like Join.Me, this is a newer video conferencing program. Oovoo is designed to maximize the video conferencing abilities. The free version allows for up to 6 individuals to video conference (more than Skype), and files can be sent to participants. It does not allow screen sharing unless you upgrade to the paid versions. This seems like a really good option for many classes (as rarely is the group size more than six) when students want to have a conversation. It does not allow for as much collaboration on a documents, though.

What other tools do you use?  Share your favorites in the comments...