GOOGLE DOCUMENTS

After rebuilding my computer at the beginning of my Johnson undergraduate career I decided that I did not want to pay for the Microsoft Office suite due to the fact that I knew it would be updated sometime that year.  Since I needed a word processing application I used a program called OpenOffice that was free and was able to save in the .doc format that my professors would be using.  Since I had this program and it worked perfectly fine I figured there would never be any reason for me to change again.  However, once Google Documents, recently renamed Google Drive, appeared I was hooked.  I was given free storage online for my documents as well as free word, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing processors.  Once again I was amazed at what they were giving away for free.  While these processors do lack some of the bells and whistles that the paid ones feature I feel like they are somewhat overlooked anyway.  If this is enough for me on a day to day basis then it should work perfectly as a proper tool for students learning how to use technology properly for future use in their academic careers.

The most incredible strength of Google's online word processor and document sharing cloud storage is the fact that multiple users can use the same document at the same time.  Users can use the chat feature to talk about how they want to write the document and then edit it and watch each others words appear on their own screen.  Google's save feature is once every 2 seconds so that does leave a small room for error to take place but should be small enough for quick responses and fast collaboration.  We have already used the document in class where we sign up for the topic that we will be presenting each week for our TEAM evaluation but I have also used Google Drive in the recent past to collaborate with my teammates on our capstone project.  I found that the editing feature was amazingly helpful and even when a person could not physically show up for our meetings they were able to join in with our document and add their own input from their own home.  This could make for easy grading or helpful input as a teacher to student documents but it also allows them to understand the importance of working together and through the use of technology.

The new Common Core State Standards that are being introduced seem like they are perfectly paired with Google Documents and their Drive feature.  By grade 4 they are expected to "use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting."  Google Drive is only accessible by technology and the Internet, produces documents that are written with keyboarding skills, and allows collaboration with others.  While there are other ways to do these same things Google has all of it and is easily accessible to anybody at anytime with an Internet connection.  I know that if schools begin to teach with the use of Google's products there will be a greater understanding of ease-of-use with technology between students, teachers and beyond.