This is another addition to Technology Thursday. On Thursdays we will be highlighting a different online technology that Teachers can put to use in the classroom. You can find more articles on the Technology page.
In the next couple of weeks I will be sharing products that are offered by Google for free. They come standard with any Google Account and are easy to use and so useful.
Today I will talk about what I believe to be the most useful tool offered by google, Google Docs.
Google Docs is a cloud service (which means all the files are stored online and can be accessed from any location that has internet access). You do not have to worry about being able to save your work on to a hard drive, flash drive, cd, floppy disk (haha), or even a filing cabinet.
In Google Docs, users can create
In Google Docs, users can create
- Documents
- Presentations
- Spreadsheets
- Forms
- Drawings
- Tables (still in Beta mode)
Documents - this is just a simple word processor very similar to a Microsoft Word. There are a few limitations to the users options in comparison to Microsoft Word, but the main tools are accessible (font style, size, color, highlighter, bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, links, numbering/bulleting and the ability to paste images into the text).
Overall, it is fully capable of making professional documents that are readily available to the user.
Presentations - Google presentations is very similar to a Microsoft Powerpoint. The presentations are easy to make, However, they are not visually stunning but do just fine for simply conveying information. If you want to impress with your presentations, I would suggest another tool.
Spreadsheets - Spreadsheets are simple spreadsheets much like the product generated from Microsoft Excel. They are simple and easy to use.
Forms - This is one of my favorite tools in the whole pack. Google forms allows you to create forms for finding out information. Information flow is key to any functioning system and this is a simple way to get it.
In Google Forms the creator is able to make multiple choice, true-false, rate on a scale, and text questions. Teachers could make test with this, or a survey, or a questionnaire for parents (the possibilities are endless).
Drawings- This tool is pretty simple to use. You can add images that you are able resize and add text or shapes. It is a pretty convenient tool for simple images but is not the greatest for anything complex. For that, I would suggest another tool.
Why use Google Docs?
There are really a couple of reasons that Google Docs is the best way to create new docs.
The best feature is the sharing capability of Google docs. They can be shared with anyone, everyone, or no one depending on the creators wishes.
Here is a 3 min video explaining Google Docs in plain english:
The collaboration aspect of Google Docs is what makes them so great.
You can create documents and presentations with teachers who are teaching the same material together at the same time. Google Docs are living documents that are saved automatically when you are working on them.
When they are edited (even if it is someone else making edits) you see changes to the documents in realtime! So you can create docs together without being together.
Just one more way to stay busy and increase productivity!
