Information Technology @ Johns Hopkins Collaboration and Productivity Tools Audioconferencing Audioconferencing has been a standard conferencing tool for many years but technology continues to improve the service. On-demand audioconferencing enables users to have meetings on the fly without reservations with the added convenience of permanent dial-in numbers and access codes. Audioconferences can be controlled from the desktop, by allowing users to view participants, click on individuals to mute them, and even assign accounting codes to specific conferences. Users can also administer audioconferencing accounts over the Internet, set up new users, view real-time reports, and pay bills online. IP-based audioconferencing is becoming more available as voice-over-IP becomes more widespread.
Webconferencing In this kind of conferencing, participants use a computer and a web browser to give presentations online. These presentations use browser-based tools to allow slide presentations to be given in real-time for up to hundreds of participants simultaneously. Text –based chat, question-and-answer sessions, group polling and group web surfing can also be used in presentations. This kind of tool can include web-based collaboration as well. With data conferencing services, people can exchange documents, edit them together and interactively compile and share information. Edits and other changes are made in real-time. These conferences can even be recorded for later viewing. Whiteboard applications allow participants to mark up documents live onscreen, and have all other participants in the conference see the comments as they are being made. Data conferencing is ideal for brainstorming sessions, and for sessions in which final changes to documents need to be made and agreed upon by a widely dispersed group of people. Generally, audioconferencing is a part of the web conference so that the slide presentation can be narrated as it is being given and the presenter and participants can communicate with each other. Security is provided so that the presentations can stay private and guided Web tours can be part of the presentation. As with regular audioconferencing, webconferences can be scheduled in advance or done on the fly and even recorded for playback over the Internet. Live, online polls can be conducted as part of the presentation, as a way to gain instant feedback. IP-based audioconferencing is becoming more available as voice-over-IP becomes more widespread. Lower quality video can be included in these web conferences.
Videoconferencing – IP and ISDN Videoconferencing allows for virtual face-to-face meetings at a distance with colleagues and others around the world. It requires that compatible videoconferencing equipment be available at both ends of the conference. If the equipment is not available at one end of the conference, many videoconferencing providers offer public rooms that can be used on an as -needed or regularly scheduled basis. Videoconferencing allows for multiple, split-screen displays so that conferences can encompass several different locations simultaneously. Videoconferencing is ideal for times when high quality visual interaction is vital, but when participants cannot physically be at the same location. Videoconferencing over IP is a cost-effective alternative to ISDN and other switched digital services for conferencing transport. It allows secure videoconferencing with other locations over the IP network. Data and desktop sharing is also supported by videoconferencing. Presentations can be shared between locations. New desktop videoconferencing software is available now so that the kind of videoconferencing that was available only in a conference room in the past is now available at the desktop for a fraction of the price.
JShare JShare, a web-based utility intended to provide students, faculty, and staff with a personal, easy-to-use interface to upload, download, and share files to both users inside and outside of the Institution. Some features of JShare include, but are not limited t - 100 megabytes of space for student, faculty, and staff file storage
- Secure file access from anywhere at any time
- Advanced collaboration and document management
- File sharing ability both inside and outside the Institution
- Ability to email files as links to reduce the load on email systems
- Ability to create and maintain personal web sites
JShare is an effective collaboration tool that offers users many tools to enhance communication and productivity. Features such as Permissions, Locking, and Versioning all function to enable multiple users to read and edit files they have uploaded to their JShare accounts, control various levels of access to those files, prevent data loss created by multi-authoring and editing, and retain information about changes made to files by different users.
RefWorks RefWorks is a Web-based bibliography and database manager that allows users to create their own personal database by importing references from text files or online databases. They can use these references in writing their papers and automatically format the paper and the bibliography in seconds. RefWorks allows you to… - Organize and create a personal database online – no more index cards to write out and organize. Everything is done automatically as you import the reference into RefWorks.
- Format bibliographies and manuscripts in seconds – this saves hours of typing time and decreases the number of errors in creating tedious bibliographies. Easily make changes to your paper and reformat in seconds.
- Import references from a variety of databases using the already created Import Filters.
- Searching your RefWorks database is fast and easy – RefWorks automatically creates author, descriptor and periodical indexes when importing so you just click on the word to perform the retrieval. Use Quick Search to search all fields for the most comprehensive results or Advanced Search to narrow your search to specific terms and fields.
Gartner Intranet GartnerGroup is the Voice of IT today. A singular resource in the world of information technology, providing clients worldwide with the most authoritative intellectual capital, robust and proprietary databases, and a unique brand of methodologies and processes. Timely IT expertise that generates effective decision making. From measurement, research and analysis, to decision support, consulting and training, our integrated capabilities bring clarity to the current and future direction of the world’s hottest and most volatile industry. Gartner's research covers a vast range of global IT issues. The research agenda is defined by the clients' needs, focusing on the critical issues, opportunities and challenges they face every day. Research content, presented in the form of reports, briefings, updates and related tools, is delivered directly to your desktop. Gartner's 500 analysts provide in-depth analysis on virtually all aspects of technology and telecommunications, including hardware, software and systems, services, IT management, market data and forecasts, and vertical industry issues.
Johns Hopkins Enterprise Electronic Mailing List Solution IT @ Johns Hopkins is in the process of testing and developing a new electronic mailing list solution that would enable real-time, or dynamic, list population based on specific search criteria. By utilizing the vast information in JHED on all Hopkins affiliates, email mailing lists can be created and then dynamically updated each time a message is sent to a list. Future lists could be as broad as “All Faculty in School of Medicine,” to as specific as “All Female part-time staff members in the Psycology department.” The current mailing list solution is quickly becoming outdated as well as not able to support many of the functions that Hopkins customers have requested in a mailing list application. The new solution will provide a web interface for administration, up-to-date information on list members, use of a backend LDAP or Database (ie. MySQL, Oracle) server for list member data, and overall higher performance for a growing service on the Hopkins campuses.
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