Well, this week has been illuminating. I have revisited Google Docs for the first time in 2 years, finding, to my delight, that the program is much easier to use, with many format/style options. I created a presentation (a sample slide show on the metric system, with text and photos imported from the internet). I like the fact that you can click and drag the slides to rearrange them, rather like keynote.
Then I made a document, and my daughter and I worked on a silly "Fortunately, Unfortunately" story, while chatting online. Lots of fun. One thing I didn't like, and I haven't figured out whether I can change this, is that I couldn't tell what changes she made without comparing the new version to the old version. For some reason I thought each contributor's comments/changes would be in a different color, but we couldn't make that work.
I imported a Word document as well, and that worked fine, I just tweaked the format a bit.
Then I created a short form/questionnaire, and discovered that the spreadsheet responses are a GREAT resource for teachers, committee chairs, etc. Incredibly handy and tidy way to collect and assess information.
The one thing I didn't remember was that all participants need a gmail account, and I don't know the gmail addresses of the other participants in the class, so that's a drag. But I can see that there is a lot of potential here! I can't wait to use these applications in my classroom.
Great learning this week, Maggie. You have explored in depth and made several practice attempts. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteThe survey/questionnaire features is very cool. Many teachers get hooked on Google Docs by beginning with this feature. Wait until you see Rick Romanow's presentation on Google Docs next week. He has created an amazing system that he will share with us.