Week 7

Hey guys!

So this week was all about Google Docs. Here is a quick video with a little bit of an overview of Google Docs!

 

I would like to start off by saying, that I LOVE Google Docs. I have been using it for about 5 years now, and I find it so helpful within my education! Google Docs allows you to create various kinds of documents online, and share them with other people. It also allows you to invite other people to edit, and add to your documents. What this means for me (and students in general) is that if I have a group project, I can create a document, invite all of my group members, and we can all edit and write within the document at the same time. Not only can we all be on the same document at once, but we are able to see all of the changes in real time, and who is making them. There is also a 'chat' feature, where you can talk to your collaborators, and you have the option of making highlights and adding notes, if other members of the group are not online. I have recently found Google Docs to be very helpful in doing brainstorming activities with groups. Everyone can write down whatever they think of without interrupting others, or having to wait for someone to write ideas down, but you can also bounce ideas of of others, and be inspired by others ideas! 

Taken From: http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/googledocs-tips-379x243.jpg

Google Docs has three main uses; Google Docs (word documents), Google Sheets (Spread Sheets), and Google Slides (Slide Show creator).

While I have never used Google Sheets, it seems relatively simple and user friendly. This week I was able to use Google Slides for the first time, and it was great. It was very user friendly, and very similar to common power-point creators such as Open Office, and Microsoft Powerpoint. It was great to be able to work with a group to create a slide show, completely online! We were able to talk to each other via a chat option, and suggest changes and add to each other sections!

When it comes to Google Docs, I love that I am able to access my documents, and slideshows from just about anywhere, and I can share it with whoever I want. I also like that I can invite people, and control whether or not they have the ability to edit, or make changes.

Another great thing about Google Docs is that it is free! And let me tell you, when you say free University students come running.. 

But in all seriousness it is a fantastic program, that I am happy to add to my PLE (I can't believe that I forgot to add it originally!). Overall it is great for many academic purposes, but could also prove to be helpful within various aspects of your work life, and any other situations where you need an easy way to share documents. I hope it is just as useful for you as it is for me, and that you add it to your PLE as well!

That's all for now, but I will be back next week! 

Thanks for learning with me... digitally! 

~ Hannah