Tech Tips for Teaching & Learning

Google Docs - the improvements keep coming!

What's new?

• Offline access - you can now edit and view documents, spreadsheets and presentations even when you're offline. When Google Docs detects an internet connection, it saves your work.
• Save presentations as ppt - as mentioned in training, the Google Docs presentation app does not yet have all the bells and whistles of PowerPoint, but it's very functional and great for students working on a presentation as a group. Now the presentations can be saved as .ppt (PowerPoint), allowing greater flexibility.
• More search options - to help you stay organized and find your documents
• Saved searches and a customized dashboard - click on Saved searches in the left pane, and you can create a customized dashboard showing your docs just the way you want them.
• Colored folder names - for us visual people

Have fun!

You can make a quick survey with Google Docs!

Google Docs now includes an easy survey maker through the Spreadsheet tool. This is well suited to collecting simple information from your classes (like an evaluation or a getting-to-know-you activity), or gathering information from your department or a committee. It doesn't have a ton of bells and whistles, but that's part of what makes it so simple! Several teachers at CDH have already tried this tool, and they're raving about it!

For a quick demonstration see Drape's Takes.

Google Docs Intro

Last week's Tech Day was an introduction to Google Docs. We had a great time creating and sharing documents, and many of you have already come up with terrific ideas for using these tools in and out of the classroom. If you missed the session or want to review, here is an online presentation which outlines the basics. Other sources for help are the Google Docs Help page and Atomic Learning.

Note that we are now recommending Google Docs as the word processor of choice for students and teachers. Using this online tool means no problems with forgetting where it's saved, not having the disk, or having different (incompatible) versions at home vs. school. The spreadsheet program is also recommended, but at this point we do not recommend use of the presentation tool; it does not handle animations nor import well from PowerPoint.

Look for ongoing updates and tips on Google Docs in this space. I welcome your questions!