Google Docs for Education

The age of web 2.0 didn’t just bring us social networking tools. It also brought us productivity tools, such as Google Docs. This created a new way of working more efficiently using web-based technology. Google Docs provides central repository for files that are accessible from any computer with an Internet connection. It also interacts with Google’s suite of tools like Gmail. This creates a powerful workflow that integrates different processes, but keeps everything accessible from anywhere. The most important aspect of Google Docs for teachers the collaboration it provides. Multiple people can share documents and interact in real-time.

In fact, I used Google Docs to write this blog post. Actually, I wrote in Microsoft Word and used Google Sync to upload my file to Google Docs. With Google Docs I have a versioning history of my work, and I can share it with others for help editing it. That’s far more efficient then using email or printing out a copy for review.

If I take that into a classroom setting and I’m using Google Docs, I’m in a much better position to work with students on assignments (i.e. researching, writing), or for peer-to-peer interaction. The key functionality being that we can work interactively on a project.

A lot of schools are adopting Google Apps for Education that provide Gmail, Docs, etc. for a low cost without the worry of hosting and managing these complex applications.

Google has an entire site devoted to its educational tools. It’s full of good examples and product descriptions, of course.

Probably the best resources, however, is our peer starting with this YU 2.0 community. So please share your thoughts on Google Docs, or other productivity tools for education by posting a comment.