The Ed Techie: portal

I installed Google Desktop a few months back, but didn't really do anything with it, mainly because I was viewing it as it is billed - a desktop search tool. Probably because I'm quite linear in the way I work (I'm male - I don't do multi-tasking), a desktop search tool isn't something I really need a lot. Sure I need to find online resources, but then I use normal Google, or search journal databases (if Google could sort out the federated search across multiple database problem, that would be useful). But now I have my new laptop (a Vaio - why did it take PC manufacturers so long to realise that just because we use Windows doesn't mean we like beige - Mac users need not reply), I took the time to configure the other parts. I'm now almost a fan, and usually I don't bother with client-based software much. I love having my main blogroll going continually - it's a small window so you couldn't have all blogs in there, but the people who post a lot it's worth following. I put some quick reminders in the scratch pad, I have a number of different Flickr photo streams, as well as the My Pictures archive scrolling through on Photos, I use the To Do list to organise my day, and I even check the weather (it says it is raining in Cardiff today, and a quick look out the window - yes, it's right!).

So it's very quickly become part of the constellation of tools and services I operate within. I also use Netvibes for some similar purposes, so here is how they compare for me:

Google Desktop:

Pluses - always present, embedded search facility, good range of tools

Minuses - can be a distraction (I keep jumping off to look at photos that come by, or read blog entries - not good when you are trying to write a project plan), slow to load (maybe a result of the indexing process), photo streams seem to get stuck showing the same pictures (particularly if it is loading ones from hard drive).

Netvibes:

Pluses - tabs makes it much more structured, seems much quicker at loading RSS (postings that have yet to appear in GD show up immediately), potentiall richer tool set

Minuses - no desktop integration, need to visit site, not a search tool

I had a good Skype chat today with two academics in the Netherlands who are interested in the Open University's Open Content project.

During the discussion one of them pointed me at Netvibes. This is great, it's an individual portal tool. What I really like about it is the way it blends tools and information feeds. This is what web 2.0 is all about! It also takes us one step closer to a really service oriented approach to VLEs. In this future the VLE ceases to exist, and one can view it as simply a portal to a set of tools, which may be provided by the institution or the individual. I have created my own portal in netvibes and have sent some evangelising emails to colleagues.

I am advising on the portal project at the OU, and I think netvibes will be a good way to show people what is possible with portals. One of the problems with these kind of projects is that you can't really do consultation because people don't know what they want from such a tool, so you have to take something to them initially that they can react to. The same thing applies to the Learning Design project I'm working on.