Google+Docs

Google Docs is a suite of online tools that resembles Microsoft Office tools. media type="youtube" key="6_hJ3R8jEZM" height="315" width="560" align="right"
 * Google Document is equivalent to Microsoft Word
 * Google Spreadsheet is equivalent to Microsoft Excel
 * Google Presentation is equivalent to Microsoft PowerPoint
 * Google Drawing is equivalent to Microsoft Word's Picture Tools

Google Forms is a tool within Docs that allows users to gather and organize data results with Spreadsheet.

The video to the right gives a brief overview of Google Document, Spreadsheet, and Drawing. It shows how similar each tool is similar to its Microsoft counterpart. Keyboard shortcuts, such as bold or copy, can be used with Google Docs as they would be used in Microsoft Office. In addition, the video shows how multiple users can work on the same document at one time, which fosters collaboration. The video also highlights the chat feature, so that users can communicate with each other while editing the document.


 * Accessing and Creating Docs**

To access Google Docs, a valid e-mail address needs to registered with Google. Once registered, users can access their documents at the top of the Google search page.



On the Google Docs homepage, users will see a list of their projects. As you can see, Google Docs can support a variety of file types, which can all be imported to each person's documents list. Google Docs supports files in Word, Rich Text, HTML, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF formats (Google, 2012). The file list displays the last date when the document had been revised, and files can be organized into folders just like any hard drive.


 * Benefits**

There are several benefits to using Google Docs for students and teachers. First, all documents are stored in the cloud instead of the hard drive of individual computers. This means that users can access their documents from any computer connected to the Internet. Thus, students and teachers can access their documents without having to send e-mail attachments or saving files to a flash drive and remembering to take their drive home with them.

In addition to storage and access, Google Docs makes collaborating much easier. Documents can be shared with other users collaborating on the same project, so there is no need to send e-mail attachments to group members and creating several copies of the same document. Multiple users can edit the same document at the same time, and it clearly shows who is editing any part of the document. As mentioned earlier, the chat feature allows group members to talk with each other while editing the document. This feature fosters collaboration between group members as they can discuss ideas and revisions for the document.

Finally, Google Docs keeps a revision history of every document. Thus, it is easy to go back to see what a previous version of the document looked like instead of searching old e-mail attachments to find the right version a user would want. Google Docs also allows users to restore the document to an older version, so in case a major editing error is made, users can search the revision history and use the appropriate version of the document.


 * Examples**

In this example, multiple editors are collaborating on the document at the same time. While working together, group members can communicate with each other using the Google Chat text box on the right side of the screen.



The example below is of a Google Presentation. The editing layout and menu options are almost identical to Microsoft PowerPoint, and the presentation opens up in a new window when Start Presentation is clicked.


 * Navigation **

Next: Google Forms


 * = Home ||= Google Docs ||= Google Forms ||= Google Sites || Sample Sites ||= Google Search ||= Advanced Search ||= Implementation ||= Challenges ||= Conclusion ||= References ||