After writing a recent blog article, I was suddenly struck with how many online tools there are to enable users to complete most tasks from Word Processing through to editing videos. At the moment, many of the tool offerings don't have the same complexities as the commercial packages that we have installed on our personal computers, BUT... many of them offer something which our standalone installations don't do very well. Working collaboratively with others usually involves sending the document to others using email or Instant messaging technologies. There are few applications that allow users to collaborate on a single live working document. SubEthaEdit is one such application that does already exist, but similar applications are few and far between.

One of the best features of online tools is their ability to share the document with others. Google Docs and Spreadsheets offers this feature and already is becoming very useful in both my professional and personal life. The school tuck shop can now exist as an online spreadsheet, meaning that all pupils can access the data and ensure that it is kept uptodate.

I intended to write a blog article listing the range of online software and tools available freely on the Internet. However, Derek in New Zealand posted a really good link to a site where someone at SolutionWatch is writing a series of articles covering Web 2.0 applications:

Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 - Part 1 ... is all about general web based tools.

Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 - Part 2 ... talks about online applications.

Back to School with the Class of Web 2.0 - Part 3 ... will give some real life experiences of Web 2.0 applications in the classroom which I am really looking forward to reading.

(this article written using Google Docs)