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Zoho |
So what is this Zoho thing?
Zoho is an online computer software package which provides a variety of applications which can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. Importantly it is not necessary to download anything.
It is not aimed exclusively at education but includes a variety of applications which can be utilised in the classroom. Primarily these useful applications are not new concepts they are alternatives to more widely known ones provided by companies such as Microsoft. The distinctions is that it is used entirely online, including saving and storing of work, and therefore can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection
It is accessed via http://www.zoho.com and requires for users to log in, an e-mail address is necessary for this. The majority of applications are free, in fact those which require payment are probably not appropriate for the school setting.
The applications which may be of use are:
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Writer (a word processor)
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Sheet (a spreedsheet)
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Show (a powerpoint)
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Wiki (for creating online encyclopaedias)
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Share (a space for sharing photos etc.)
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Mail (e-mail)
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Docs (all documents are saved online)
As I do not consider the other applications of use in the classroom I will focus on the above. Feel free to add content on the other applications if you disagree.
Zoho Writer
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Zoho Writer is basically just a word processor. As I suppose is only natural it is not dissimilar to other word processing applications which are widely available and can be used for pretty much the same things. There are slight differences in the ways in which some options and tools work but as you can see from the screen dump above there certainly hasn't been any attempt to reinvent the wheel.
Here is a video about using Zoho Writer:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf71nos7Qag
Zoho Sheet
| This application is basically no different to others that are available, as can be seen from the image above there is not much that differentiates it from Microsoft Excel. It can be used to store, manage and manipulate data and to produce a variety of charts and graphs to illustrate the data. This video has a brief introduction of what Zoho Sheet can do. |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEx4v_-7ZTc
The FAQs in Zoho Show describe what it is:
What is Zoho Show and who is it for?
Zoho Show is an online presentation tool. You can think of it as an online equivalent of Microsoft Powerpoint or Open Office Impress. You can be a businessman, a salesman, a student, a teacher, a professional or anyone who is in need ofmaking a quick, neat presentation. Zoho Show can be used by all.
The advantage of Zoho Show over desktop based presentation tools is that you can access your presentations from anywhere with just a browser and an internet connection. And Zoho Show is completely free for personal use.
The Zoho website also has a video which covers what Show can do:
http://media.zohostatic.com/show/videos/show20/show20video.html
Zoho Notebook
I am not too familiar with the benefits of using any kind of computer Notebook and have not managed to learn much whilst using Zoho Notebook so I shall once again resort to including Zoho's description of its uses:
| Zoho Notebook combines the collaborative benefits of the internet with the personal touch of your notebook. It is an online application for gathering and multiple types of content that can easily be shared with others. It helps you create, aggregate, and collaborate content from other Zoho services as well as any web content. With its user-friendly simple interface, you can manage multiple sources of information and content in a single place to access and share. Once again a helpful user has published a video about how to use this application: |
http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DsfJFBcF_6cE
Zoho Wiki
For those of you unfamiliar with Wikis they are simply a web site of sorts where users can create and update content on any subject. The original an most well known is Wikipedia which seems to have encyclopaedic entries on almost every subject. However they don't need to just be sites in this format, they could be for or about practically anything. Zoho Wiki is once again a free online version which can be created by a user who can give access to anyone else logged into Zoho to edit.
Zoho Share
This application seems to be little more than a glorified document store. It has elemnts of Facebook and Myspace in that it has a personal page which a user can use to publish their documents from other Zoho applications. It does allow you to search documents published by other users.
Zoho Mail
Zoho Mail is fairly self explanatory, it is an online e-mail service fairly similar to most of the others which are freely available.
Zoho Docs is basically an online version of the My Computer on your computer. Anything that is saved in the other applications of Zoho online appears in Zoho Docs.
Since I created the content in this page Zoho.com has been updated and has a new format, however most of the problems listed below persist. Furthermore Zoho.com did not inform me that there was going to be a change and I noly discovered it a day or two before presenting my findings to the rest of my class.
This is quite a difficult question to answer. Before I start I should point out I shall be considering this from the point of view of a primary school classroom. As such I have not experimented with some of the applications as I don't see their relevance, these might be excellent applications.
In the time I have spent investigating Zoho I have been on a bit of a rollercoaster regarding how I have felt towards it. I decided to create this document using Zoho Writer rather than my preferred software and it has not been without it's problems.
The good
The only advantage that this software provides is that it is online. The fact that a users work can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection means that there is no need for purchasing software for your computer. This could be very beneficial for school children today as not all computers come with the software that they may need throughout a school year. Zoho allows continuity of software, for example if the school has Microsoft software but the home computer does not, students can simply use Zoho at all times. Furthermore as all work is saved online there is no need for students to have to carry their work on USB drives or disks which can be easily damaged or lost.
The bad
The one advantage I can see of using Zoho is, however, not without its problems. Being online does offer some advantage but it also results in many major drawbacks.
I almost don't know where to start as I have many issues with this software.
- I suppose the main problem with being on line is the reliance on an internet connection, you have to have one and it needs to be a good one. I have broad band at home and access to computers at Flinders University however in both places I have had to walk away and leave Zoho to do something I have asked of it. On occasion I have had to shut an application down as it simply stopped responding, this is not a problem you often experience with software downloaded to your computer.
- I also have some concerns with security, work being stored remotely means that there is a chance that someone else can get access to it and make changes. We are only too aware of issues related with children having access to the internet and the dangers which it holds.
- I have not found any limits or controls which can be placed on it, for example blocking access to e-mail.
- I'm not sure how likely it is that a home computer with sufficient internet access will not have software on it, most likely Microsoft.
- All users need to have their own login and therefore their own e-mail address, not something all students will have.
and the other
- The applications themselves do not really offer anything new, in fact most are inferior immitations of already existing software. The word processor, spreadsheet and powerpoint all look and function in very similar ways to Microsoft products, only not quite so well. To me they did not appear to have all of the features I was used to.
- The systems are not very user friendly. I am relatively computer savy but it took me quite a while to work out how to get the applciations to do what I wanted. Even navigating between applications is not very straightforward.
- The format is not consistent, the menus at the top of the writer do not match the sheet which do not match the show and so on.
- Above all I don't think it is very user friendly, I found it hard so I do not see young children enjoying its use.
- There are alternatives, for example Google Docs which only contains the word processor, spreadsheet and power point. At a glance this seems easier to use and doesn't include applications not appropriate for school children.
Most importantly I do not see any pedagogical benefits of using Zoho, it does provide a tool which can be used in teaching but it does not contribute to student's learning in any way. Therefore its use in the primary classroom is called into question. I would accept that for students who do not have access to other software packages the fact that it is free is great but apart from that I would have to admit I am not a fan.
Reviews
I have searched the internet for reviews about the Zoho suite of products, most are more positive than my opinions but they tend to come with caveates about not relying on it exlusively.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/applications/soa/Zoho-Office-Suite-beta/0,2000065797,339272157,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/applications/soa/Zoho-Show-2-0/0,2000065797,339288101,00.htm
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2202028,00.asp
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1986519,00.asp
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/18816/
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/internet/soa/Google-Docs/0,139023437,339291966,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/software/applications/soa/OpenOffice-org-2-4-0/0,2000065797,339290270,00.htm
My classmates at Flinders University had a quick go at using Zoho during a presentation, they recorded their thought in the following Zoho Wiki.
http://learningwithcomputers.wiki.zoho.com/
Tell me what you think.
My name is Gordon Steele and I am a final year Flinders University student, the initial content of this page is all mine and it would be great if you wanted to comment on or contribute to this page. Feel free to disagree with me, after all this is only my opinion.
Comments:
From tsweeney - 11/4/08 5:52 PM
Last Modified 9/7/09 8:05 PM