The Use of Current Collaboration Technology in Group Work

Collaboration Technology is defined by Wikipedia as technology "designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals". The use of such technology is being used throughout the world from students working on class projects, to major businesses networking internally.

There are many types of collaborative software around the internet, many of which are free to use. There is social networking, like Facebook or Twitter; there are blogs and wikis; there is the use of cloud networks, and much more. All of these are useful when working in a group. Tony Byrne, President of The Real Story Group, wrote in an article of the top 5 tools in collaboration technology. The 5 tools he suggests are:

1. File sharing
2. Blogs
3. Wiki's
4. Micro-blogging
5. Forums

Each of these tools is a great asset to a company or group. The most useful, in my opinion, is that of file sharing. There are programs like Google docs that allow multiple people to be working on the same thing at different places in the world. I am currently involved in a group project and we are putting all of our research and assignments together using Google docs.

The use of Collaborative Technology is a great resource for all types of groups. They allow information to be passed on to members at a fast rate and allow instant feedback.

Works cited:

Wikipedia dictionary, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_software

Tony Byrne "How to Use Internal Collaboration and Social Networking Technology", http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/03/internal-collaboration-and-social-media-technology.html