Online Conference Meetings and Presentations
When faced with training multiple locations, there are tools that ease the burden of posting a presentation and carrying out meetings online. Over the past couple of years, I have personally used both Genesys and WebEx (now owned by Cisco) for giving presentations online to groups up to 10 people. Both services allow you to host presentations but the greatest asset for training comes in the form of live, online demonstration. These tools provide a lot of value when trying to demonstrate a new software feature or internal procedure as the viewers can see the action in real time. Both services perform well in terms of ease of use and speed, but Genesys does offer tighter integration with scheduling with Outlook.
Another online presentation service is offered by Adobe called Adobe ConnectNow. Having used this in a test situation only, I do enjoy the ability to use a webcam so the audience can see the presenter. Additionally, Adobe offers a white board and ability to upload support files through the ConnectNow service.
For simpler solutions such as video chat with multiple locations and Powerpoint hosting, check out Oovoo and Slideshare respectively.
Company Information Portals – Wikis
Unless you have been disconnected from Internet lingo over the past several years, you have no doubt heard of Wikipedia (wiki + encyclopedia). A wiki is little more than an online communication tool that exploits the power of many over the power of one.
A wiki is little more than an online communication tool that exploits the power of many over the power of one.
In the case of Wikipedia, it allows any online user with knowledge on a particular subject to update an encyclopedic entry. This viral publishing of knowledge has also translated into huge benefits for companies as a one stop shop of internal information according to BusinessWeek.
Any size business could benefit from a wiki by allowing every employee to write and post entries that relate to their specific job function. This information in turn could be used as training material, up-to-date troubleshooting guides, project outlines, or simply the latest company newsletter. Since most of the wiki software includes other collaborative, social media tools like chat and status updates, the company wide wiki quickly becomes an indispensable communication tool.
- Wiki Software Comparison Chart
- PC World's Seven Tips to Success with a Corporate Wiki
- Robin Good's interactive map of the best online collaboration tools currently available
Print shops who exploit these tools to create an Uptrained workforce, will be well positioned once the dog days of summer are over.
