Zotero - Okay, after watching the little promo video about Zotero I think it's totally cool! However, I am not currently working on any papers, and I'm not planning to pursue another degree any time soon, so I don't think I'll be downloading this plugin. However, I think this could be used much in the way that I use Endnote now, with saving citations to books I want to read or purchase. And I would recommend this to someone who was in high school or college as a resource to look into.
Mendeley - If I were in an academic setting doing research, I would definitely give Mendeley a try. It seems very straight-forward and helpful and the feedback from users that I read was very positive. As with Zotero, this is not something I will be using personally right now, but it is something that I could recommend as a tool for others to use.
CiteULike - This one seemed to be the weakest of all the tools. Granted, this is a completely shallow thing to say because I have only viewed the overview videos and have not actually used the tools. However, I cannot see any use for this for me personally. Zotero and Mendeley seemed to do so much more for the user than CiteULike. I would be more likely to recommend them (Zotero and Mendeley) to a college student than this (CiteULike).
Monday, September 26, 2011
CPD 23 - Thing 13
Google Docs - I'm a big fan of Google Docs. I've recently started relying on them quite heavily. When the event registration plug-in on our website started acting funny, I started using Google Forms as a substitute until we could get it figured out. They've worked so well for what I need though that I'm going to continue to use them for this purpose.
Wikis - I'm familiar with wikis and have used them sporadically over the years but have never been part of a project where they've been useful over a sustained amount of time. I was recently part of a planning team that tried to utilize a wiki to help with the planning process and to keep us updated between meetings. Two of the group members added to the wiki, one watched the wiki but did not add and one did not use the wiki at all. I think wikis can be good tools, but they are only as useful as the people using them will let them be. In this case, the wiki was not very helpful because not everyone was participating.
Dropbox - I think that this can be a good solution for some people but I do not feel that its a solution that I personally need right now. It would be nice for off-site backup, but I already store so much of my stuff in the cloud that I don't see the necessity of it for me. When I'm working on documents in multiple locations, I store the documents in my email which I can access anywhere I have an internet connection or via my smartphone. My photos are on my computer hard drive, but besides the regular back-ups I do, many of the photos are also out on the web via Flickr and Facebook or in my email. So, overall, I think Dropbox is a good tool, just not a tool I'm adding my toolbox right now.
Wikis - I'm familiar with wikis and have used them sporadically over the years but have never been part of a project where they've been useful over a sustained amount of time. I was recently part of a planning team that tried to utilize a wiki to help with the planning process and to keep us updated between meetings. Two of the group members added to the wiki, one watched the wiki but did not add and one did not use the wiki at all. I think wikis can be good tools, but they are only as useful as the people using them will let them be. In this case, the wiki was not very helpful because not everyone was participating.
Dropbox - I think that this can be a good solution for some people but I do not feel that its a solution that I personally need right now. It would be nice for off-site backup, but I already store so much of my stuff in the cloud that I don't see the necessity of it for me. When I'm working on documents in multiple locations, I store the documents in my email which I can access anywhere I have an internet connection or via my smartphone. My photos are on my computer hard drive, but besides the regular back-ups I do, many of the photos are also out on the web via Flickr and Facebook or in my email. So, overall, I think Dropbox is a good tool, just not a tool I'm adding my toolbox right now.
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