Thing 11 - Online Productivity Applications

Google Docs is yet another thing that I knew little about let alone that I had an account with Google Docs when I created my gmail account. The Google site is just loaded with all kinds of treasures. Thank you 23 Things for showing me so many great opportunities to improve my classroom!

Little did I know that I had already been using a Google Docs type of application when I saw that this feature includes the Google Calendar. My family did not buy a paper calendar for the first time ever this year because we all refer to the Google Calendar to be sure that we are all using the same updated version. It is a handy reference for multiple people. I imagine that I will find similar convenience and ease with the other Google Docs options. I see the word processing feature serving as a mini version of the wiki that I just created for the secondary level Spanish teachers in my district. Where the wiki will hold multiple resources edited by multiple users, this word processing option holds more singular content edited by multiple users. It eliminates the disorganized and sometimes hectic communications that occur with e-mails and attachments. There seems to be a strong opportunity to promote collaboration here yet protected enough for security because you can invite the collaborators who will work together. I frequently find that I have exceeded my allotted space on my district's share drive; this may be another option for sharing/collaborating with more access to memory space.

To date, I am very accustomed to MS Office and barely familiar with Google Docs so it is difficult to imagine MS Office being replaced. I do think that Google Docs will complete well with MS Office. I like the compatibility of working from different platforms. I like the collaboration right down to working together at the same time from remote sites. I like the accountability especially as it relates to students. It seems that if my students invite me to be a collaborator then all of the following are possible: I can give edit suggestions, I can view their work, we can avoid the delays that result from printers that didn't work or flash drives that get misplaced. Students can complete work at school even if they do not have a computer at home. Yet again... I am curious about another "thing" and anxious to play with it some more.