Collaboration tools support four main areas of need as dictated by the timing and place of interaction.

	Same Time (Synchronous)	Different Time (Asynchronous)
Same Place	Face-to-Face Meetings	Digital Repositories
Different Place	Video Conferencing Instant Messaging	E-mail Groups

Although CI is often used to support collaboration, many free, off-the-shelf tools are perfectly capable of supporting collaboration needs. For example, UM is creating a unified collaboration environment by adopting the Google suite of tools for use at the university. This set of tools allows teams to share and edit documents in real time or asynchronously, set up mailing lists, chat through text or video, and create websites for sharing information and progress. “Same Time/Same Place” is, of course, the one modality that does not require a technical infrastructure. More tools are available that support multiple quadrants in an integrated way. Below, we suggest some cyberinfrastructure-based and other more widely available tools to support your collaboration needs beyond “Same Time/Same Place.”

 

High-Definition Video Conferencing

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Larger groups need support from higher-end systems. High-definition video conferencing systems allow larger groups to “meet” with clear video and audio resolution. UM is a member of Internet2, which provides networking services that can support high-definition video conferencing. Specifically, their video cloud service called the Internet Commons http://commons.internet2.edu/ supports multipoint video calling using virtual meeting rooms, desktop collaboration tools, and other immersive video conferencing services. Their network has a broad, international reach.

Web Conferencing

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Specific university units support web conferencing products.

Adobe Connect (run by the Medical School and ITS) supports online meetings, webinars, and eLearning. It is based on the Adobe Flash technology. It also allows presentations to be recorded for later viewing.

Saba Centra (run by the School of Public Health) is described as “a web conferencing and online learning solution that combines a highly interactive virtual training classroom, online meeting, and webinar platform to enable eLearning and collaborative web conferencing across the globe.” It is used with an application that runs through web browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, as well as iPad and iPhone apps. They offer a short video overview of their web conferencing features.

Google Products

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Google Docs includes tools for editing text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and drawings. All of these “docs” allow document sharing, real-time editing (including chat), version tracking, and comments. You can also easily e-mail all people who have shared access to a document.

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Google Sites enables one person or a group of people to build a shared website or wiki that includes document sharing with file attachments or information from other Google applications such as Google Docs. Sites can also connect with Google Calendar, YouTube (video), and Picasa (image sharing).

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Google Talk allows video and voice calling as well as instant messaging/chat. It is sufficient for communication between two people or small groups of people in different places using webcams.

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Google Groups supports e-mail groups, including an archive of the group’s email messages and document repositories.

U-M resources

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CTools is more commonly known for its use as a course management tool, but it also supports collaboration among groups at the university or beyond. Members outside the university can join with a “Friend”account. CTools includes announcements, e-mail groups (with archives), document and resource (e.g., Website) repositories, discussion forums, chat rooms, calendars, and wikis. Each CTools site can have a customized selection of tools.

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MCommunity is the university’s latest system to support e-mail groups. Groups can be open or closed and can benefit from spam filtering and will let you post limited additional information such as websites, contact information, how to join, and aliases.

Other Popular Tools

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Skype supports free instant messaging, low-resolution video calls (using webcams), sending files, and screen sharing. Calls can include more than two people. Screen sharing enables demonstrations or desktop support by sharing one computer’s desktop image with a remote person on a Skype call.

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Basecamp is a popular fee-based service for project management. It lets a team set up e-mail groups, document sharing, timelines, and task assignments. It is popular for its ability to track comments and message threads as well as keeping track of responsibilities and deadlines.

If you use other resources that you would recommend to others, please let us know.