Google Documents

I was first introduced to google documents as just another means of saving your work/word files. From time to time, I would write essays on google, in case I wanted to access them without a flash drive. However, over the last year I have really begun to see them as an educational tool.

In MD 499, as well as MD 403 (a school media center course I'm taking), we have been using google docs as a powerful collaboration tool. Although the google word doc cannot be edited simultaneously, it still enables users to edit and share their work. A google excel spreadsheet however, enables users to edit simultaneously as long as they add to separate cells.

This year, one goal that I have as an educator is to increase my use of web 2.0 in the classroom. I am looking to google docs to help me do so. Already, I have used the excel spreadsheet to let students collaborate on generating a list of topics to study for a project on US history. Currently, I am using google word documents so that groups can share, add to, and edit the same essay. I never imagined that 25 students could collaborate on the same writing piece throughout the course of a day.

I have my annual goals meeting with my principal tomorrow, and I'm going to share with her my goal to incorporate web 2.0. With this as my official goal, I hope to find ways of employing collaborative online tools throughout the year.