Exploring Google Docs

I evaluated the Google Documents application and really enjoyed it. I think it is a great tool for people to collaborate and share their ideas without having to e-mail it back and forth.

• The thing I like the most about this application is the ability to edit a word document in real time with a large group of people. I also liked how as the owner, you can limit different users to only being able to contribute certain things. As the owner, you can make sure they can edit or only view the document. The thing that I found frustrating was a minor point, but works very specifically to my content area. When trying to insert mathematical symbols or equations, it is a little more complicated and does not have as many options as the equation editor in Microsoft Word. Other than that, I found it to be a very useful application.
• Students would need to be familiar with a word processor in order to use this application. They would also need to have the ability to work with the Internet and the knowledge of how to work together with other students in a way that is conducive to learning.
• You can share the products of this application in a number of ways. You can invite other members to help contribute to the document. There is also an option to share the link of the page which allows others to see (or you can give them the option to edit). Finally, you can also e-mail the document to someone as an attachment.
• In using my own particular subject matter, which is math, I could see my students using this as a tool to answer their questions. They could create a document which would allow them to verbalize their mathematical thinking and get their questions about how to solve certain problems. Other students could then edit the document and they could make something that helps to address common misconceptions that many students might be having.
• As a teacher, there are some things you can do to help students collaborate using this application. First, you could start them off by being a model of how to use and share documents. Once the students are comfortable and able to edit these documents, the teacher can also provide information and feedback into their documents. A teacher could also do something similar to this course, in have students post to the document every so often to get an idea of how they can work with their fellow classmates.
• There are a few management issues that a teacher would have to take into account to use this application. They would have to make sure that the students either have an e-mail address or if nothing else, at least Internet access to use this application. They would also have to make sure they set it up in such a way that if they want the students to edit and share, that they have these options when invited. If the teacher only wants students to view certain documents, they must also have that set up.