Collaboration Tools
Google Docs
Collaborating with colleagues can be difficult in our connected world, especially for anyone trying to work on a collective resource. One of the best free online resources that enables educators to work collaboratively is called Google Docs. Google Docs allows an individual to store documents online, share them with others and even invite colleagues to collaborate on a shared document or spreadsheet. What is really nice is that you can each edit online and in real time. When a Google document is edited the document is automatically saved and stored, and a history of the change is kept. An on-screen chat window shows who else is online viewing the documents.
You may create folders to keep your documents orderly. To move a document to a folder, you can drag and drop it in the appropriate place. Google Docs also lets you save in a variety of formats, including: DOC, XLS, CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF and HTML. _____________________________________________________________
Aligned to NETS-T:1.b, 1.c, 1.d, 2.a, 2.b, 2.c, 2d, 3.a, 3.b, 3.c, 3d
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For a video tutorial on how to use Google Docs, click on the graphic below. After you watch the video, you will see two links on the left, click on them to view: "Take a Tour" and "New Features".
For an online text tutorial visit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/16654/HOWTO-use-google-docs
21things Hands-On Activity and Assignment:
1. Open a Google Account.
2. Create a Google document and describe ways you see Google Documents can make you more productive. Make use of 3-4 formatting items on the toolbar, and invite a colleague, or classmate to collaborate by making some edits to the document.
3. Capture a screen shot (using Print-screen) and paste it into your portfolio. Include some reflections on how Google Documents can increase your productivity.
Optional: Complete Activities 1-3 using Buzzword.
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Additional Resource/Option - Adobe Buzzword
Adobe® Buzzword® like Google Docs is a new online word processor. It is perfect for writing reports, proposals, and anything else you need to access online, or work on with others. It looks and behaves like your normal desktop word processor, but it operates inside a web browser, so there's no installation required. Adobe Buzzword has a different look and feel from Google Docs, but does essentially the same thing. There are a lot of great tools on the Internet, and these are two very good online tools to choose from. The following links will give you a good overview of Buzzword's features:
http://www.adobe.com/acom/buzzword/
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Acrobat.com/Buzzword/
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