google docs as a teaching tool

To get started I took a Google Docs Tour and found a video where teachers have only good things to say about the new technology (obviously a Google promotion, but what they say is true). Google docs has made some classes, where computers are available in schools, a lot more interactive; people learn, the best, by doing, and not just by listening to a teacher's lecture. In the video the teachers found that students are more excited to learn and have raised the level of their work because they know that a lot more people will be looking and criticizing their work; especially, if they publish their work onto the web for all of their parents and peers to view. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14922438@N00/ /CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

A good way a teacher can incorporate Google Docs is in a Language Arts/English class. When writing papers, students can create their own documents. To get started they can type their rough drafts and after they're done, share their document with other students and the teacher, who can then edit the draft. Utilizing the revision history will help in finishing up a final copy that will be published and submitted to the teacher.

Another way Google Docs is useful for teachers is to post quizzes. Check out the "how-to" slideshow in the blog, Free Technology For Teachers.

My Google Docs Experience Thus Far

The new technology of the week is Google Docs. Ingenious organizational tool, I have to say. I was getting tired of e-mailing papers to myself, classmates, and professors.

My first time actually using Google Docs was about three weeks ago, for a group project. As we did research and found useful and credible sources, we put all the links and information on one document that we could all access at any time. Once we were ready to write our paper, we actually switched to Etherpad, which has been "acquired by Google". Unlike Google Docs' "real-time" word processor, Etherpad is "really real-time"; it is much more live. Though, once we were done writing the paper, we transfered onto a new Google Docs page where we could all edit it in our own time. After that, all that was left was to make a powerpoint presentation out of our findings and Google Docs was there with to help us with its "presentation" option.

The best part of all this is that we all have access to this one document 24/7; we can access it and edit whatever we want, whenever we want. We're college students and we've got busy lives; it's hard to find times that we all could meet. Thanks to Google Docs we didn't have to try and schedule too many face-to-face meetings.

What else is Google going to come up with?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15312650@N05/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0