Module 3

My foray into Google docs has been fascinating and I've spent far more than two hours exploring and experimenting. I've made a website, a presentation about a recent holiday, a home budget spreadsheet and a document to share with friends. There is so much to say about Google docs...

How can it be applied to education? It's really exciting for schools and school communities for many reasons but the most over-arching of these is that it presents us with a "cloud" computing solution to the huge costs involved in keeping up with computer technology. Apart from hardware, software is very expensive for schools to purchase and upgrade and we are very dependent on Microsoft products. Google docs provides "office-like" apps (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation) for FREE along with online storage and the ability to share docs and collaborate in real time with others anywhere, anytime. Google is constantly improving and updating its products (as does Microsoft) but schools don't have to pay for this! It also means we won't have to spend large amounts on buying ever-bigger school servers to store our stuff onto.

I am imagining teachers at my school sharing and collaborating on programs and lesson plans, storing them online, giving and getting feedback, reviewing and commenting on student work anytime and anywhere. I am also imagining students working together on research, projects, presentations etc both at school and home and also getting peer and teacher feedback as they work. I am seeing the possibility of improved teamwork and contribution by all. The challenge will not be with the students, though...

Google apps also provide users with the ability to create their own websites and calendars, all stored online and accessible everywhere. No need to know html code, no uploading issues...so easy.