As the wiki matures, people are developing a new set of tools which combine wiki-style editing right in your browser with specific applications. One growing area is spreadsheets, where the web-based tools can import data from Excel (and other popular spreadsheet/data analysis tools), perform data analysis/statistical functions just like the major offline tools, and export that data so any other tool can be used. The web-based tools go far beyond this though, because they enable something that isn’t so easy with the offline tools – collaboration and group editing, wiki-style. In much the same way that a wiki is a quantum leap over Word for group editing of a document, a web-based spreadsheet tool enables multiple people to see and edit the same data. The website for JotSpot Tracker aptly puts it with the statement “end dueling versions” and once you consider this, it becomes apparent how these tools can transform students’ work. Imagine having students conducting a group project use a wiki to collaboratively write a report, and use a web-based spreadsheet to collaboratively collect, analyze, and present that data. Tools like EditGrid enable you to post your spreadsheet to a blog, and data is updated as the spreadsheet changes! Google Spreadsheets even has a chat feature so people editing the spreadsheet at the same time can discuss changes with each other. All of the tools allow you to define who can access your spreadsheet – it can be made public for anyone, or you can enter a collaborator’s email address and the tool sends them a link. Best of all, web-based spreadsheets have adopted the wiki/web 2.0 approach to pricing – many are free to create a basic spreadsheet and advanced features are available at low-cost!

• EditGrid – 500 formulas/functions, allows post-to-blog with real time updating. Here’s a great comparison of EditGrid, Google Spreadsheets, Microsoft Excel 2003, and wikiCalc (alpha)
• JotSpot Tracker – from the makers of the JotSpot wiki
• Google Spreadsheets – simplicity rules here: Google Spreadsheets has perhaps the cleanest interface of any of the tools, and has an extensive list of formulas. If you use Gmail, you’ll like the familiarity of Google Spreadsheets.
• wikiCalc – from Dan Bricklin, creator of the original spreadsheet VisiCalc
• Num Sum – publish to blog. Here’s an example of Num Sum used for World Cup standings
• Zoho Sheet – 300 formulas/functions, tagging, publish to website with real-time updating as data changes
• iRows – reference cells in other spreadsheets, publish to website with real-time updating as data changes
• Dabble DB – “combines the best of group spreadsheets, custom databases, and intranet web applications”
• Intuit Quickbase – the most expensive on this list, markets to businesses