I got an iPad, Part 2: Meetings & Collaboration
January 18, 2011
In the second part of our look at the iPad in the workplace, we’ll consider ways to get the most from this device as a tool for meetings and collaboration. The fast power-up and portability of the iPad make it a natural for carrying to meetings and presentations – and with the right apps, make it a useful tool for online collaboration, also. Following are a few we find useful; you can find the apps listed below in the iTunes store online, using iTunes software on your desktop, or from the “App Store” app on your iPad or iPhone.
Notetaker HD
It’s ironic that in the 21st century, the era of the “paperless office,” so many of our electronic resources are still based on the paper paradigm: we have “folders” on our computers, Microsoft Outlook offers us “Notes,” the electronic equivalent of the familiar yellow sticky note, our email has “signatures” … the language we use to describe much of our electronic data is still based on the use of paper. But there are some of us still given to more traditional ways of creating data.
If you are an inveterate note-taker, and prefer to take those notes by hand, then Notetaker HD is for you. Notetaker HD allows you to create handwritten notes with your finger or an iPad-compatible stylus (we recommend using a stylus such as those offered by Boxwave). Tend to draw lots of diagrams in your notes? This app will accommodate you more easily than a cocktail napkin.
The host of features offered by Notetaker HD make using paper positively archaic: you can organize notes by tags (labels that you create), by the date the file was last modified, by title, and more. You can change “ink” colors and line thickness with a single tap (goodbye, overloaded pocket protector!), use a “highlighter” with several color choices, and easily erase anything. You can also group multiple pages into a single note to keep important data organized.
One of the features we like most about this app is that you can email a PDF of any note you create. This allows us to attend a meeting, make notes, and send a PDF copy of those notes to other attendees even before the last person has left the meeting room. Notetaker HD also allows you to import PDF files for annotation.
Notetaker HD is intended for the iPad only (not iPhone), and is currently available for $4.99.
Keynote
Keynote is Apple’s equivalent (some would say more powerful) of Microsoft’s PowerPoint presentation software. If your office is a dedicated Microsoft shop, don’t worry: Keynote can open files created in PowerPoint, and also has the capability to save files created in Keynote as PowerPoint files, so you can maintain compatibility with your PowerPoint-using colleagues.
The quality of the iPad’s display make it perfect for showing off your products and services using Keynote, or you can connect your iPad to an LCD projector (using the optional adapter) and use your iPad to give a presentation to larger audiences. For you road warriors used to lugging around a laptop and assorted accessories needed to give presentations, the iPad is a lightweight alternative for your “road show.” Additional features include the capability to export a presentation to QuickTime movie format or as a PDF file. Those of you who leverage social networking to advertise, your business may be interested in Keynote’s ability to export a presentation directly to your YouTube account.
Keynote is $9.99.
WebEx & GoToMeeting
Many of you have attended online meetings, or “Webinars,” as an alternative to face-to-face meetings. Online meetings have risen in popularity in the last decade because they eliminate travel costs, provide collaboration tools, and simplify the task of coordinating meetings. Two popular applications for virtual meetings are WebEx and GoToMeeting, tools from Cisco and Citrix, respectively. Both these respected online meeting services are now available for your iPad.
At this time both the WebEx and GoToMeeting apps offer the ability to join meetings hosted by others, and include all the important features you have come to expect on your desktop or laptop. If you host online meetings, however, you should note that hosting meetings is not yet fully implemented (though the WebEx app does offer some limited hosting functionality).
So why would you care about the WebEx/GoToMeeting apps? If you only attend online meetings from your desk at work, maybe you won’t. But if the idea of being able to attend an online meeting from anywhere (especially if your iPad is 3G-capable!) using an extremely lightweight, portable device is appealing, then these apps may by quite useful. With the increasing usage of online meetings – for staff meetings across geographical boundaries, sales presentations, training, etc. – the ability to attend meetings on demand can be appealing indeed.
Both the WebEx and GoToMeeting apps are free. Subscriptions are required to host meetings; see the WebEx and GoToMeeting Web sites for more information.
