Ventana software support forum

<R.M.Mooy@telecom.tno.nl> writes:

> Do any of you have experience with such a setting? If so, which tools
> are available and suitable for communication between modelers (or
> modelers and experts)? I'm thinking of whiteboard tools, forums, online
> drawing programs etc.

Rutger,

I spend the vast majority of my professional life in such settings and
have been using them for at least the last 8-10 years. There are lots
of such tools available, as you're hearing.

Perhaps the best summary (although still incomplete) is David Woolley's
list at http://www.thinkofit.com/webconf/. Perusing that should keep
you busy for a bit. There's also a Yahoogroup called
onlinefacilitation; my colleague Nancy White of Full Circle Associates
moderates it, and it's a pretty helpful group of folk. Nancy's site at
http://www.fullcirc.com/ has a toolkit of articles on online work which
you might find useful. If you contact either of them, tell them I sent
you.

For synchronous spaces where you're seeking effective collaboration, I
like the HP Virtual Classroom best and Microsoft's Live Meeting (nee
Placeware) second best of the ones I've used. Of course, if you're on a
budget and only have a small group, VNC is cross-platform and free.
I've heard good things about Groove, too, although I think I've heard it
tends to be a bit of a resource hog.

There are a number of asynchronous spaces that might fit your needs. I
believe moin-moin and twiki, both Wikis, both have the ability to do
whiteboards, for example. Web Crossing is a great, general-purpose
commercial tool for asynchronous work -- perhaps my favorite
general-purpose tool -- but I've just been in a conference using
iCohere's product, and that worked pretty well, too. iCohere's product
has a bit of a synchronous and asynchronous feel.

While the selection of a tool is important, as with many things, the
particular brand of tool is only part of the story. Learning how to
work effectively in such settings is the other and most important part.

I have a couple of articles on my publications page
(http://facilitatedsystems.com/pubs.html) dealing with this issue.
Scroll down to the section on Distributed Work Groups: ""Online
Facilitation for Inperson Facilitators"" is an introduction to
facilitating effective work online, and ""Types of Group Work: A Decision
Matrix"" is a short intro to selecting the type of tool. I have a
slightly longer version of that message I have used, but I only do that
in person (i.e., online), because those slides need words to go with
them.

Contact me if you'd like to see the expanded presentation or if you have
more questions. Best wishes! It's a highly productive way to work,
once you get the hang of it.

Bill
From: Bill Harris <bill_harris@facilitatedsystems.com>
--
Bill Harris 3217 102nd Place SE
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541