Thing 16 -- Using Google Docs

I had heard of Google Docs before but had never used it before. I updated the spreadsheet and then played around creating a document, a spreadsheet, and a presentation. The format of Google Docs is similar to older versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, so they aren't too hard to figure out. I discovered that even though I didn't actually save (or didn't think I did), my document saved three versions by the time I hit the save button.

I'm not sure how I could use GoogleDocs with my students. Perhaps I could it as a way of doing group editing or maybe just partner editing. I currently teach them how to use Office 2007, so the formatting/layout of Google Docs is a step backward from the new organization and style of Office 2007. Students could access Google Docs online, but they would need an email first, which is true of many of the Web 2.0 applications. One way to do this would be to set up monitored student emails such as I have done in the past using Gaggle.

I can see using Google Docs as a way to share preliminary copies of documents I create and share with other teachers in my department so that we could all collaborate on it. That's the best use I see for this application right now. I'd be interested to know if others have ideas on how to use Google Docs with their students.