10 tech tools to make your life easier
DESCRIPTION
From the CCCC Conference, September 24 2013TRANSCRIPT
10 TECH T
OOLS T
O MAKE
YOUR LI
FE E
ASIER
TI E
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ABOUT TECHSOUP CANADA
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b) Do you have a Letters Patent from Industry Canada?
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• Community Engagement Manager
• Online community & resources about nonprofit technology
For example… the nonprofit tech self-assesment: https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/are-your-technology-priorities-in-order-take-the-tech-se
lf-assessment
@[email protected]/techsoupcanadatechsoupcanada.ca/community/blogyoutube.com/techsoupcanadaslideshare.net/techsoupcanada
TOOLS THAT MAKE IT EASY TO…
W O R K W I T H O T H E R S
1. Schedule meetings
2. Host online meetings
3. Get feedback on documents
E N G A G E Y O U R S U P P O R T E R S
8. Make quick videos
9. Email large groups
10.Get input
S TAY S A N E & W O R K O N T H E G O
4. Track ideas
5. Track tasks
6. Track expenses
7. Access your files anywhere
WORK W
ITH O
THERS
SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Problem:
• Every time you try to schedule a meeting you have to send 1,000 emails back and forth to find a time that works
• More people in the meeting means more emails and more confusion
DOODLE
DOODLE
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: somewhat mobile-friendly website
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Suggest meeting times and find out when others are available
• Let others see your calendar and book meetings with you
SCHEDULE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• http://www.smashingapps.com/2011/07/14/five-simply-effortless-tools-for-meeting-and-scheduling.html
HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Problem:
• You need to meet with people who aren’t physically close by
• Travel is expensive and time consuming
READYTALK
READYTALK
S P E C S
Cost: $47/year + $9/month for qualified orgs
https://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/readytalk/product/readytalk-web-meeting-pro-25-1-year-subscription-%
E2%80%93-access-to-discounted-rates-0
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Mobile: apps for iPhone and iPad
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Host online meetings of 25 people
• Web conferencing or audio conferencing (1,000 free minutes/month)
• Invitees can join via phone or computer headset
• Share your screen
HOST ONLINE MEETINGS
Other ideas:
• Skype (free, up to 10 people)
• Google+ Hangout (free, up to 10 people, includes video calling)
• TeamViewer (free for personal use, up to 25 people)
GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Problem:
• When you have a document you want feedback on, you email it to several people
• They respond by editing and updating the version number, or by using Track Changes
• You have to make sure all the changes get incorporated properly
• Discussions about the document result in long, unwieldy email threads
GOOGLE DOCS
http://bit.ly/cccc2013-demo
GOOGLE DOCS
S P E C S
Cost: free(paid if using Google Apps for
Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, iPhone and iPad (Google Drive app), mobile-friendly viewing on all platforms
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Multiple document editors at the same time
• Have discussions threads in the comments
• Go back to a previous version at any time
GET FEEDBACK ON DOCUMENTS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/challenge-3-document-collaboration
STAY
SANE &
WORK O
N THE G
O
TRACK IDEAS
Problem:
• You have all these great ideas and pieces of info and it’s all on pieces of paper or you forget
• How to keep track of all this in an easy, organized way?
EVERNOTE
EVERNOTE
S P E C S
Cost: free(upgrade to get more space
& collaboration features)
Platforms: online, Windows, Mac
Mobile: app available on all platforms
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Create text, picture and audio notes
• Tag your notes to make it easy to find them
• Access your notes from anywhere
TRACK IDEAS
Other ideas:
• Mind mapping is great if you are a visual person
• http://spyrestudios.com/15-great-mindmapping-tools-and-apps/
TRACK TASKS
Problem:
• You have so many tasks to do that you forget about some of them and they slip through the cracks
• You aren’t sure what your team is working on
• You’re working with an outside consultant and aren’t sure what they are working on
ASANA
ASANA
S P E C S
Cost: free for < 30 people
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android and iPhone
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Assign tasks to yourself and others on multiple projects
• Get notified when someone completes or comments on a task
TRACK TASKS
Other ideas:
• http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2010/03/35-very-useful-online-tools-for-improving-your-project-management-and-team-collaboration.html
• Trello (trello.com)
TRACK EXPENSES
Problem:
• Tracking and categorizing all your expenses is tedious and time-consuming
• You don’t have an easy way to find out where you’re spending your money and how far along you are with your budget, without talking to your accountant
• You track your expenses in a spreadsheet, which works but is unwieldy
MINT.COM
MINT.COM
S P E C S
Cost: free
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, iPhone and iPad
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Connect to your credit card to pull in your transactions
• Categorize your expenses
• View graphs of your spending over time
TRACK EXPENSES
Other ideas:
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9231406/10_smartphone_apps_that_can_help_track_your_expenses
ACCESS YOUR FILES ANYWHERE
Problem:
• Your work files are stored on your work computer or server
• To work at home, you bring your laptop home, put your files on a USB drive or email files to yourself
• This makes it easy to get confused about the versions of files
• It’s also not secure – for example, what happens if you lose your USB stick or your personal email gets hacked?
DROPBOX
DROPBOX
S P E C S
Cost: 2GB free(upgrade for more space)
Platforms: online, Windows, Mac, Linux
Mobile: app for Android, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Automatically sync files in the “Dropbox” folder to anywhere you have Dropbox installed, and online
• Share folders with others
ACCESS YOUR FILES ANYWHERE
Other ideas:
• SkyDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, Box.net http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/best-cloud-storage-dropbox-vs-skydrive-vs-google-drive-vs-icloud-1120024
• If all you want to do is email large files, You Send It is a good (free) option
ENGAGE YOUR
SUPPORT
ERS
MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Problem:
• You have some great pictures from your program or an event
• You want to put them together into a short video, but you don’t have any video editing programs, or any experience
ANIMOTO
http://animoto.com/play/nLQm0rVbbuM7ivWjpVN37g
ANIMOTO
S P E C S
Cost: free($3/month for longer
videos & more features)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Create short videos that combine photos and text
• Choose music & style for your video
MAKE QUICK VIDEOS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/a_few_good_tools_video_editing
EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Problem:
• You want to send out a newsletter, or let your supporters know about a big announcement
• If you send the email in Outlook, you can only send to so many people at a time
• Also, you risk getting blacklisted as a spammer
• Also, you have no idea whether anyone actually read your email
MAILCHIMP
MAILCHIMP
S P E C S
Cost: free for < 2,000 subscribers
(above that, 15% discount for nonprofits)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app available for iPhone and Android
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Allow supporters to subscribe online
• Create & send professional-looking emails
• Find out how many people opened & clicked on your email
EMAIL LARGE GROUPS
Other ideas:
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/community/blog/jane-vs-tierney/challenge-1-newsletters
GET INPUT
Problem:
• Getting input or information from others – whether inside or outside your organization – can be a manual process
• E.g. maybe you ask people to email you feedback on a question – now you have a bunch of responses scattered across your emails
GOOGLE FORMS
GOOGLE FORMS
S P E C S
Cost: free(paid if using Google Apps
for Business)
Platforms: online
Mobile: app for Android, mobile-friendly
T H I N G S I T W I L L L E T Y O U D O
• Quickly create a form with different types of questions
• Submissions are automatically added to a Google Spreadsheet
• Embed your form on a website
GET INPUT
Other ideas:
• Survey tools e.g. Survey Monkey
• http://www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/learning_centre/articles/online_survey_tools
• Polling tools e.g. Poll Daddy
• http://www.platformation.ca/polling-and-voting.html
QUESTIONS?
@T
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