APT STAIRS a alternative" Stairway to heaven"

Was lucky enough to attend launch event of APT STAIRS Project (Appropriate Practical Technologies for Students,Teachers, Administrators and Researchers )

Interesting Jisc funded project invovlng looking a cloud computng in this case Google docs and other parts of Google Apps

it involves demonstrator projects in the 6 colleges in the bloomsbury group of UCL

key point to the projects are

• collaboration
  
• communication
  
• coordination

The project invovlves members of the college communties using technologies for collaboration for academic work.

Lots of small projects using google docs across 6 institutions
vet school around placements in first year.
London international development centre using google doc to manage membership
School of Pharmacy drug classification project using Google Docs
Birkbeck science collation data

A member Google staff gave an interesting presentation on what exactly is Google Apps . Remember other products are available including a powerful offer from Microsoft.http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchangelabshelp/bb847823.aspx

introduced idea of taking away some in house services and replace it via the "cloud".

Major advantages of cloud computing

• scalability
• collaboration that just wasnt possible before
  
• cloud continual timeline of innovation in stepped changes
  

the apps allow mere mortals to produce tools and collaboration platforms .

education the role of apis to integrate with exisitng institutinal services is common.

the google strap mantra

• communication
• collaborate
• simplify
• innovate

www.google.com/a/edu


watch the youtube video introducing google Apps

Great project interested to see what evolves. follow the project at www.bloomsbury.ac.uk/apt

Anyone for Google sites and the APT STAIRS Project

Google apps has been around for a whole and Trinity University Dublin has been using it with students staff in an educational context fro quite a while.

But this is another project I just been made aware of a really interesting project. The APT STAIRS project is an acronym for Appropriate and Practical Technologies for Students, Teachers, Administrators and Researchers.

They are using JISC funding to run six demonstrator projects across the six Bloomsbury institutions. These demonstrator projects will examine how the latest online collaborative tools (Google Docs) can engage all users in supporting and developing learning, teaching, administration and research.

The Bloomsbury Colleges comprise six internationally renowned HE institutions within the University of London. The Colleges collectively have over 15,000 undergraduate and 14,000 postgraduate students (HESA 2005/05).

They are using a range of google services google docs, calendar mail etc .

Going to be exciting to see what outcomes and impacts the project have.

http://sites.google.com/a/jiscapt.net/project-plan/Home

What interesting on the same day I became aware of Google sites uptil now available for business and institutions only is now available for http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/google-sites-now-open-to-everyone.html

going to have a goodl ook at this over the weekend and get back to when Ive had a good luck. But initial looks like it takes integration and prsentation of google services to a new level but I could be wrong !!

I will see how well it works on my ipod touch as well.

Google docs on mobile devices

Google docs on mobile devices wow just tried viewing my Google docs on my Ipod touch at url http://docs.google.com/m

now I expected documents and spreadsheets to work but was really impressed that Google presentations also worked well another good addition to Google docs functionality !!

Jooce V Google docs/Google Apps

Well Jooce made it in the BBC news and as a cybernomad I had a look.myself . My though was why should I keep a jooce account alongside my google account. Jooce has file storage (media player a plus) but no email so while it loks very clean why should I swap or have I missed something. I also suspect it wont work on my Ipod touch but I will try and report back

link to BBC story


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7267534.stm

Link to www.jooce.com

What google blog says about Google presentations

Googles own blog say some interesting things

Not wanting anyone to feel left out, we've made the presentation feature available in 25 languages; Google Apps customers can also access it as part of Google Docs.

The new presentations feature of Google Docs helps you to easily
organize, share, present, and collaborate on presentations, using only
a web browser.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/09/our-feature-presentation.html

Whats also interesting that theyve done a video and interesting its on youtube and embedded in youtube player in the google blog. Interesting they didnt use googles own google video !! Look at the blog watch the video !!!

Blogging on a bus on the way back from Stansted !!

GOOGLE Presentation

Excuse the shouting I published a dodgy powerpoint of bad shots of Apple touch etc and Apple store in Glasgow on Google docs this morning I was surprised that I could. I then mention the to my fellow e enthusiast Rob Englebright and discovered they only launched it today been back a realise you can also create presentations in google docs and export them as zipped html to play locally !!! WOW WOW!!

Dont get me wrong its far from fully functioing powerpoint but with integration with google docs still quite cool!!!! Excuse the dodgy first attempt !!!

http://docs.google.com/Present?docid=dc7bzghg_49ds2w8h&fs=true

Keep your eye on the ball I missed charting being added to google spreadsheets

After raving about RSS feeds and watching them via bloglines,google and google alerts I've missed something massive. Andy repeat after me you will register for the google system blogs feed. Because I missed launch of charting from google docs. Ok its not as exciting as when they finally come out with google presenter (or whatever they call it) but it still pretty cool .http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/04/google-spreadsheets-charts.html



also interesting article on the same blog why comparing google docs,google mail to Microsoft office isnt a similar comparison according to google but the cynics amongst you would say well they would say that wouldnt they. . http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/google-docs-spreadsheets-vs-microsoft.html