BP5_Google Docs

I want to introduce you to Google Docs! For those of you who have not used this tool it is amazing!  Here is the basic idea behind Google Docs.

1.  Create a document either in word or some other program or by using Google Docs.

2.  Post the Doc to Google Docs and share it with all of your friends.

3.  As new information needs to be added each of your friends can log on and edit.

4.  As if having only one document between any number of people isn’t good enough, multiple people can edit all at once and see changes in real time!

Here is an example of how one might use Google Docs.  For my AR project I will be collecting lots of data from students because the entire project is to determine the effectiveness of Student Response Systems (“clickers”). As each student answers questions the information is saved into an Excel spread sheet.  I am going to use Google Docs to house that spread sheet so that my critical friends can peak in and see what I am collecting.  Beyond just looking and being able to edit the spread sheet they can leave me notes right inside the document. 

Using Google Docs to collaborate will make organizing all of that data very simple and efficient.  It will also allow me to store my work in the cloud so I can access it anywhere from any computer and work on it whenever I want.

Another great feature about Google Docs is the ability to export documents in just about any format. So when I am finished with the project I can simply save the Google Docs spreadsheet as an Excel spreadsheet with all the same formatting.

If you aren’t already using Google Docs here is link to get you started. Click Here.