Top Reasons to use Google Drive

Why do I use Google Drive?

1. Cloud storage with files available from anywhere, using any (web-enabled) device.  I have not had to use a flash drive (Thumb drive/USB drive in a long time).
2. Avoid sending large files by email - just share the file or send a link.
3. Ability to have offline files (when there is no Internet access) and still edit them - even on a tablet that does not have specific word processing software
4. Collaborative editing with any device - earlier today, my laptop battery drained and I used an iPad to co-edit a meeting notes.
5. Ability to share and edit files collaboratively synchronously during a hangout
6. The commenting feature is terrific - you can carry on a conversation around a document by responding to comments - if you @name someone it notifies them via email
7. The auto save and versioning means you never lose any data 
8. The spreadsheet allows for custom scripts which have been used for many purposes, my favorite is a auto-scoring online quiz.
9. The ability to create online forms and surveys that save the data to the spreadsheet.
10. You can publish documents to the web essentially creating web pages

AND its FREE!

3 Case Studies for managing information and staying organized

At a several recent meetings, colleagues have mentioned how they are finding it increasingly difficult managing information in various different settings.

Some examples:

1.  One colleague needs to have regularly scheduled meetings with a group of physicians.  They need to share and collaboratively author documents.  Not everyone can attend these meetings consistently.
2.  Another colleague finds it difficult to keep up with literature in his specialty.  He gets a lot of print journals, but does not have a streamlined way of recalling recent studies and finding them quickly when needed.
3.  A third colleague finds that she is getting disorganized, gets distracted and is unable to complete elective but high stake tasks.

Three very common problems and here are the solutions I proposed to them.  One criteria I used was to use  tools that were free.

1.  I suggested that he start using Google+ and Google Docs.  It is very surprising how many people do NOT know about these tools.  Sure there are other ways to do this but the sheer simplicity of Google Docs is a winner for any group with members that might be technically challenged.  The commonest question I get is, "How do I save the document?" Some other questions are, "How do I share this document?" or "Does it track versions?" 

I suggested he set up a Google circle with the participants.  He could then start a Google document and set it up to be editable by anyone with a link.  He could then copy the link and share it with the Google circle.  He could also start a Hangout at the next meeting to discuss the document and those who could not attend live, could participate via the Hangout.  Using Google Hangout with extras they could collaboratively edit the document.  

The part he loved was that at the end of the Hangout, the document was finalized and he did not have to send it to anyone.  They could all see it on Google Docs.  

2.  This conversation started when the colleague was complaining about the flood of lab results, copied charts, refill requests etc in his EHR inbox.  I mentioned a recent Archives article where they found that 50% of such messages and alerts are not important.  Even in the important messages 80% of the text is irrelevant to the critical message.  He was surprised I was able recall the article and pull it up quickly on my laptop.  

I described how I use Google Reader to subscribe to key journals in my area of interest.  In addition I have set up RSS feeds on specific key words from PubMed.  As I scan through the articles, I tag and organize them by specialty.  I share some of these articles with colleagues on Twitter or Google+ which leads to some interesting discussions and helps ingrain the article in my memory.  

The part that really works is finding the article that you have scanned/read/shared.  Google reader has an excellent search function and quickly pulls up any article in your set of journals whether you have read it or not.  

If you can spend some time each week scanning through your journals of interest on Google reader, you can generally recall studies that got published and can retrieve the article very quickly.

To get him started, I gave him a link to a bundle of medicine journals I follow.  He was able to get started with these with 1 click!

3.  The last case prompted me to suggest something that I have just started using.  One of my medical students recommended Workflowy to me.  This tool is another case of things being so simple that they just work.  Workflowy lets you create a bulleted hierarchical list.  The web page can be opened in any browser including on mobile devices.  You start off by creating a high level list like

• Personal
• Family
• Work

and then create sub-items.  You can add notes to the items and strike through items that you have completed.  I am planning a trip to Peru and the amount of stuff that needed to be done e.g. flights, train tickets, forms for the consulate, Machu Picchu entrance tickets, hotels, SIM card etc. all needed to be completed.  Putting it together in one list and then adding notes of web sites, phone numbers, confirmation numbers etc made the whole process very organized.  I was able to share the list with my wife who could also complete and cross off certain items.  Being able to spend a few minutes to complete elective tasks takes a huge burden off ones shoulders and is very stress relieving.  If still need more help, you can use the Pomodoro extension on your browser (Chrome) to block off all distractions for a specified amount of time till you complete the task.

I will be first to admit that I am not the most organized of people and am constantly trying to find solutions for this.  Still these are tools I use regularly (except the Pomodoro) and they help immensely.  

The Indisputable Benefit of Social Media and Web 2.0

Earlier today, we submitted a proposal to do a workshop for medical educators on learning how to use Social Media tools.  Who is "We" you ask?
Therein lies the story.

Anne Marie Cunningham (@ancunningham) in Cardiff, Wales, UK
Natalie Lafferty (@nlafferty) at Dundee, Scotland, UK and
I (@Neil_Mehta) at Cleveland, OH, USA

As you can imagine planning the content and flow of a highly interactive and hands on activity needs excellent collaboration, best done face to face.  But we were separated by time and distance.

We planned the entire workshop using Google tools.  There are some really useful features (some recently added) that make it easy and efficient to collaborate.  I am going to highlight a few.

1. Google Docs: We all know how you can create and share a Google document with multiple people.  The comment feature is particularly useful.  Much like MS Word, you can highlight a sentence and insert a comment.  But in Google Docs, if someone else comments on your comment, you automatically get an email with the new comment and a link back to the document.
2. Google+ allows you to have a rich discussion on a topic and keep it private - between the collaborators.  You get e-mails when someone adds to the discussion and also get notification on the Google bar.
3. Google Hangout provides a free method for multi-user video conferencing.  The quality is excellent as long as all parties have good broadband connections.  If necessary, one can "mute" the video to improve audio quality.
4. Google Hangout recently added extra features which allow you to share your screen or even share and edit a Google Document collaboratively.  
5. You can also take notes during the Hangout.  The notes are automatically saved in Google Docs and are available after the Hangout session.  Participants who clicked on and viewed the notes during the Hangout can see these in their Google documents.
6. Scheduling a Hangout can be a problem as right now Google+ is not directly linked to Google Calendar.  But you can create Available appointment slots on your Google calendar and ask people to reserve these.  After trying this once, we switched to Doodle.

Overall I think all 3 of us learned a lot about these features and I for one would recommend these without hesitation for anyone collaborating over a different time zones or even across the campus!

There is a lot of buzz about using Social Media in (medical) education.  There are a lot of people reluctant to jump into the fray, often for valid reasons.  This story is a very good example of one indisputable advantage of Social Media and Web 2.0.  I have never met Anne Marie Cunningham or Natalie Lafferty face to face.  Still we got to "know" each other via Social Media (mostly via Twitter and reading each other's blogs) and found that we share a lot of common interests around medical education and were able to collaborate on a workshop at an international meeting.  

Social media helps us connect with people who one would never otherwise meet, and helps overcome logistic barriers to collaborate with them.  It helps broaden our horizons and in a true social constructivist sense, it  helps us learn.