Google Docs

I was first introduced to Google Docs three years ago after my computer crashed during finals taking my English paper with it.  I now use docs to back-up everything I do, but I've been thinking lately about how I could have used it in high school.

When I was in high school my school's idea of being technologically advanced involved getting new computers (not good computers, but new) every year, and having two laptop carts stocked with thirty laptops for classes to use.  The only thing these laptops were ever used for in my experience was typing documents in class. Personally I hated this practice, it meant I had to spend the last five minutes of class saving my document to a flash drive to complete at home, or sending it to myself.

With google docs this wouldn't have been a problem.  I could have typed my document in google docs and accessed it on any computer later on. This advantage (probably the most simple of everything google docs has to offer) is also great for students who do not have access to computers at home.  There is no longer any fear of losing a flash drive, no hassle of e-mailing documents, everything is online with easy access.  Students can start a document at school and finish it later at the library.

Docs also makes editing easier.  I used to have a parent read through all of my papers in high school, but students today can simply share the document with a friend (someone familiar with the assignment) to have them check it over for completeness. Or the teacher could review the paper before the deadline to make sure the student is on the right track. In fact, the student could turn the document in online to avoid fear of forgetting deadlines or losing hard copies.

There are so many more ways that google docs can improve the paper (and presentation) writing process.