My Favorite Web 2.0 Tools Part 2!

I was assigned to do some exploring on Teamviewer, which is a Web 2.0 program and effectively lets you control somebody else's computer from your own. The program is extremely easy to download and navigate. If you go to teamviewer.com  and "run" the full program, you can quickly access the program for no fee and it is a quick download and that's it. I think if you use it more than fifteen minutes you have to pay though. I hijacked my moms laptop and experimented with this program for awhile, and I can definitely see how it could be useful in a lot of situations. When you run the program, it will give you a user ID and password. If you want to hook up with another computer, they have to download the program and enter the original computer's ID and the password given, after that the computers are all linked up. The original computer now has access and mobility to the new computer linked up. I don't know if I am comprehensibly explaining this, but here is a video that helped me understand it all: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7383719242843704178

This tool I think is very useful in any job that requires trouble-shooting with computers. It is so easy to link the computers up with one another, and it allows the "helper" to navigate and fix the problems quickly for the "helpee" (I'm making up words now). I have definitely been in a situation before where I am trying to describe what is going wrong with my computer, and when advice is given over the phone I can't really understand what it is that I need to do. With this program, a third party (if given permission) can navigate my computer, and I can even see what they are doing. There are some hesitations about the privacy of this program and potential risks of it, and this article not only describes Teamviewer  but also the cautions to take: http://www.remoteaccess.org/teamviewer-review/

I'm not sure yet how to effectively use this tool in the classroom. I partially feel like developing technology is almost overshadowing this program. In a school setting I think a teacher could use this to access powerpoints or other data that is stored on their home computers, but with all the programs we have been looking at lately, I think there are other ways to do that without linking computers together (ie google docs, google presentations, etc). I spent some time looking through pictures from one computer on the other and I thought that it was nice not having to transfer files, but again I don't know how that could be utilized in the classroom. Regardless of that, I think this tool would be soooo useful in other professions where it really is necessary to be able to see see and navigate someone else's computer.