Let´s continue with our package of ICT tools. In our second article, you can learn more about digital tools for Meeting and Communication, Creation of Multimedia and File Sharing . Enjoy your reading!
MEETING AND COMMUNICATION
Skype is one of the most popular digital tool accessible by most people with an internet connection. Thanks of Skype people users can instantly connect with land-based phones. Skype is free to download and easy to use. If you want to have a video call, you just need to connect it to a webcam and you can make free video calls to anyone in the world as long as they have the same equipment and a Skype account. Skype for a personal use can be perfect for smaller companies up to 20 employees, and Skype meetings enable managers to connect with their team for free.
appear.in is a video collaboration tool that lets you have video conversations effortlessly. PRO supports up to 12 people simultaneously. Create a room with no required registration. Upgrade the room to PRO to customize it and for more great features. appear.in is designed with ease of access in mind. It should be as easy as possible to invite anyone to appear.in, so people that you invite don’t need to register for an account or download any applications to join your conversation! It’s possible to join an appear.in room from both a computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) and mobile devices (iOS, Android).
Slack is a software program that helps businesses, employees and clients communicate in real-time. Slack is an instant messaging and collaboration system. Slack’s channels help you focus by enabling you to separate messages, discussions and notifications by purpose, department or topic. When you need to send a message to one person instead of a group, Slack provides traditional instant messaging functionality for you to do. Slack offers a “free to use forever” pricing tier and no matter where you go, you can use Slack through mobile apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone or also at your desk, for Mac, Windows and Linux.
CREATE MULTIMEDIA
Nowadays, the presence of multimedia in business, NGOs and home life has changed not only the way activities are carried out, but even imposes a different way of thinking at the conceptual stage. Business opportunities increase each time a new multimedia type emerges. Moreover, multimedia become a useful tool and key component for the education, bringing new dimensions to learning. Using multimedia tools, educators can show different demonstrations and simulations, while students can add greater depth to the works they create.
According to Wikipedia, Multimedia is content that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, video and interactive content. Multimedia contrasts with media that use only rudimentary computer displays such as text-only or traditional forms of printed or hand-produced material. Multimedia can be recorded and played, displayed, interacted with or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerized and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance. Multimedia devices are electronic media devices used to store and experience multimedia content.
Nowadays, Infographics are so popular and we can see them in different social media platforms. Infographics tend to break down complex information into smaller pieces that can be easily understood. It’s fun to share because of the illustrations, and it engages the reader more than plain text.
For example, Google Infographics Toolbox, is a great Google Resource where you can find a variety of templates and icons that can help you build your own infographic.
Another very useful Infographic tool is Canva, easy, drag-and-drop infographic creator. Canva is a tool loaded with enough easy-to-use features and functionality that anyone can create a variety of engaging content that gets shared. Canva’s infographic maker includes hundreds of free design elements, allowing you to experiment with data visualization like a pro. Thanks to Canvas you can create your own unique layouts, quality infographics on a budget, versatile marketing material, etc.
Down you can check how to create CANVA infographics in 5 easy steps:
- First, you need to create your Canva account in order to start with your own Infographic design. (for free)
- Choose from the library of professionally created templates.
- Upload your own photos or choose from over 1 million stock images.
- Fix your images, add stunning filters and edit text.
- Save and share.
Infographics make complex information eye catching, shareable and easily digestible. Most importantly, they play a crucial role in the increasingly visual world of marketing. For your next presentation, we recommend you to use infographics that immediately can catch the attention of your audience. 🙂
FILE SHARING
File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. File sharing may be achieved in a number of ways. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include manual sharing utilizing removable media, centralized servers on computer networks, World Wide Web-based hyperlinked documents, and the use of distributed peer-to-peer networking.
For file sharing you can use:
Google Docs
Google Docs is a web-based document management application for creating and editing private and public, word processing and spreadsheet documents. These documents can be stored both online on the Google cloud and/or on the user’s computer. Access to these files is available from any computer with an Internet connection and a fully-featured Web browser. The documents may be viewed by other google groups and members with the document owner’s permission.
WeTransfer
WeTransfer is a cloud-based computer file transfer service that was founded in 2009 as the simplest way to send big files around the world. Free users can send files up to 2 GB; the paid-for WeTransfer ‘Plus’ allows users to send up to 20 GB at a time and offers features like password protection, channel customization and 100 GB storage. In addition, the process of uploading the files and sending the link is completely encrypted. While this poses no risk in itself: The recipient receives an unencrypted email with a link to the file.
These are only a few example of the digital tools that you can use in your daily work, life and education. It´s important to notice that perhaps digital tools are able to provide insights and an understanding of the future of youth empowerment and employment, it may offer different solutions to increase youth participation in communities and empower youth workers. As digital tools become more efficient in solving daily productivity problems and more adaptive to learned situations, it´s expected that we’ll progress to a stage where digital tools can be deployed to solve some of society’s greatest challenges, including unemployment and/or employability.