While Blackboard and similar on-campus technologies are great for managing courses and organizations, they aren't the easiest way to coordinate communications for students, freelance contractors, scholars, and professionals from other insitutions and campuses. "Groupware" - Web-based software that helps organize and store group communications and provide groups with other tools for storing and sharing information - continues to be a popular way to coordinate communications between groups large and small. This article introduces you to the ups and downs of four options for managing your online group. Google Groups One of the best established groupware tools on the Internet is Google Groups. Functioning much like a classic mailing list, Google Groups distributes your emails and messages to the whole group. In addition, Google archives your messages, and allows you to search through the Group's archives for information. Google also provides collaborative pages (with version control) for group members to use to share information with each other and the larger public, and upload pictures, documents, and other files for sharing with group members. Google hosts advertising links on your group space, but they are neatly tucked into the lower-right corner of the Group's main page. Yahoo Groups Another of the Internet's oldest Web-based groupware tools, Yahoo groups has many of the same tools you would find with Google Groups: messages are distributed to all group members, and also stored in a searchable online archive; the ability to set your group's privacy settings; and group members can share pictures and files. In addition, Yahoo Groups can also be set up to include special information tables, including tables for a phone book, contact information, library lists, and other applications, as well as polls and a calendar for your group. However, Yahoo will advertise on your group's page much more aggressively. Facebook Groups If all of your potential members are on Facebook (or are willing to join), Facebook groups are an option. Facebook groups provide a message board and message wall to groups, some messages from which will show up on the news feeds of group members. Group administrators can also send messages to all group members, which are then delivered to group members email addresses, as well as set privacy settings for who can view or join the group. Members can share pictures and videos, but not other types of files. However, unless your members regularly monitor Facebook, it makes it hard for any member to send out a message to all other members right away. CiteULike Groups CiteULike is a new social network and academic bookmarking site. It provides groups with the ability to share and tag Web-based academic materials (such as articles online or in online databases) and information on books, as well as to have discussions and share blogs. While the system is still new, new features are constantly emerging, so this may be a groupware option to watch.

Labels: faculty, students