I had the delight of recently attending a fellow student teacher's talk on ICT use in the classroom that focused on the use of Google Docs. Personally, I find Google Docs one of the most accessible and user friendly programs available, and I use it every day when doing my assignments and sharing information.
Google Docs is part of the new generation of internet programs that use cloud computing. The term "In The Cloud" means that everything you do, whether that be writing, uploading images, movies or sound files, the information is stored on the internet and available to be accessed from any computer at any time. This is of great advantage to students as it does away with the need for memory sticks that could be lost. The other great advantage of Google Docs is that the program automatically saves all the work you do every few seconds. This means that there will be no more excuses for any students who lose their work due to computer failings etc. This feature will no doubt save someone's life in the future.
I use Google Docs for collaboration, where tracking Group work by using colours for individual contributions is a useful way of monitoring and encouraging good work. Additions such as chat boxes and Google's version of Powerpoint and Excel also mean sharing or creating presentations and spreadsheets are a breeze!
Here is a link to the original authors of the wonderful video on the top ten uses of Google Docs in the classroom:
and here is the video on youtube:
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