It seems that the potential of cloud computing and Web 2.0 social media technologies mean that it is nigh impossible not to see a new start up every week. One of the frustrating things from my point of view is that they all have some very good, positive points but no-one has yet come up with the consummate all singing, all dancing application which means that you run a number of the facilities out there to really work collaboratively. That beef aside, let’s take a look at new boy on the block – Showdocument.
Showdocument is a different beast in that it does not want to be lumped alongside the likes of DeskAway, 5pm etc but has pitched itself very much in the middle of a sector that makes it ideal for e-learning, online presentations, and general educational use. The two hours or so I spent browsing the service meant that I never to got grips with the finer detail, but I can see the potential and I will be recommending it to a blogging friend of mine who is stepping into the “teaching” side of things.
When I first started looking at this I thought it could be trounced by Google Wave but the more I look and think about Showdocument I feel it can – and should – make its mark as long as it develops quickly and integrates drag n drop.
Showdocument mixes interactive abilities with a presentation app that allows an individual to present to up to 50 individuals for a one hour time slot. On signing up you are allocated a “meeting room” number which is your online Showdocument ID and through this you can issue invitations to others to view online in the four modules. To invite someone just email them your ID and they can log into the presentation you are currently working on.
One seriously neat feature is that participants can save the presentations as PDF files at the click of a button.
Showdocument has four key modules – file sharing, whiteboard, shared text editor and an alpha offering of shared browser.
File sharing is pretty straightforward and enables you to distribute a wide range of file formats to participants. When a file is open it can be annotated with text, lines, freehand shapes etc so a presenter can highlight areas of the document. Other participants in the session can also add comments, freehand drawings, etc
The whiteboard enables people to draw and share ideas and add their own contributions to a session and there is an interactive chat box on the left so a running dialogue can be maintained by participants. You can also share third party items such as Google maps and You ube videos.
Similarly the shared text and browser modules enable interactive participation with, for example, the ability to annotate and highlight areas of a web site that the presenter or any of the participants wants to draw attention to.
For more information, watch the video below.
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