Google Docs

Wow - that was easy. I just uploaded my resume. It took less than 5 minutes to download the Google Drive software and upload my document. I found the short instructional video provided by Dr. Pierce to be especially helpful in learning how to do this task.

This is my first experience with cloud computing. Until I worked through this exercise, I didn't really understand what the big deal was. Now, I get it. The ability to access documents from anywhere is liberating. If for some random reason, I need to show somebody my resume, I can do it from any device that has internet access anywhere in the world. That's crazy. The ability to work with other people on the same documents is remarkable, too. Once I get a better handle on the Google Docs concept, I'd like to start storing all of my documents in the cloud. Why wouldn't I?

On a related note, this is a great technology for the classroom. The document sharing capability will allow me to distribute a limitless amount of information to my students. And what about lesson plans? Why wouldn't I store all of my lesson plans in the cloud? I can see that I have a lot of exploring to do with Google Docs.

Relationship to Standards: The Google Docs activity relates well to the following standards: 1(b) in that Google Docs could be used to promote student reflection using collaborative tools; 2(a) in that teachers can use Google Docs to promote student learning; 3(d) in that I will be able to use Google Docs to model and teach the safe and legal use of digital information.