Firstly, for anyone out there without a facebook account, you need to get one here PRONTO!
The advantages are many -
- Low barrier of entry for students – most already have an account, and they are familiar with its interface .
- You can be sure that students are on it, in fact, it is difficult to get them off it.
- Due to Facebook’s popularity, and Facebook Platform’s functionality, you can be ensured that it will always get updated to reflect new technology and educational developments.
- With the opening of Facebook’s API, you can now develop for facebook, and customize apps for your own use.
- Free.
As we discussed in another cloud computing post, Google Apps Education Edition and Microsoft Live@edu offers many compelling applications which satisfies most of the needs.
Apps to install
| Needs | Google Apps | Live@edu | |
| Office Suite | Google Docs | Office Live Workspace | Zoho Online Office Suite |
| Websites | Google Sites | Windows Live Spaces | Advanced Wall |
| Video | Google Video | Windows Live SkyDrive | Video, Webinaria |
| Online Storage | Nil | Windows Live SkyDrive | Files, Huddle |
| Gmail | Live Hotmail or Exchange Labs | ||
| Instant Messenging | Google Talk | Windows Live Messenger | Windows Live Messenger |
| Calendar | Google Calendar | Exchange Labs | Calendar by 30boxes |
| Desktop Sharing | Nil | Microsoft Sharedview | Nil |
For Office work, all 3 major web office suites offers facebook integration. You can chose from Zoho Online Office Suite , ThinkFree Docs or Google Docs for Facebook. For a detailed comparison of the 3 web office offerings, jump here. Thomas provides a walkthrough for Zoho on his blog.
Workspaces by Huddle or DivShare for sharing documents and files and working on projects
Slideshare (Beta) for uploading presentations and slideshows. (Does not require registration)
Windows Live Messenger for private voice chat. (requires registration)
calendar from 30 Boxes is the critically acclaimed personal calendar that lets you get organized and easily share all or parts of your schedule. Includes easy sms reminders, integrated to do list, and simple integration with facebook. (requires registration)
Email for all your emailing needs. Links to your email account.
Video for sharing higher quality video and audio than most video-sharing sites. Plus, each video has per-video privacy so you can restrict who can see it. Videos can be tagged and commented on.
webinaria for making screencasts
Facebook Mobile allows you to use facebook on the go. Use Facebook Mobile to upload photos and notes from your camera phone straight to Facebook. You can also receive and reply to Facebook messages, pokes and Wall posts using text messages, or use your phone’s mobile browser at m.facebook.com.
For Teachers
Coursefeed or Courses 2.0 for use as a virtual classroom noticeboard.
Experiment
Started an experiment on it in 22 Dec 2008, will end in June. Check back for results!
