Collaboration Tools

I love Google Doc.  We use them in three of our four core classes to allow students the opportunity to collaborate with one another to produce different products.  There are many positives when it comes to the application of Google Docs.  Obviously the easiest component to identify is the real time ability to add and edit documents while informing your partners of the changes.  For our students, it also alleviates the time crunch issue.  Students are able to work on these assignments at there leisure.  Let's face it....kids are extremely and often feel overwhelmed.  As an instructor, I am able to monitor the progress of my students from a glance.  I can check in with my students to see there progress, identify problems, and note the amount of work students are contributing.  My favorite current assignment that utilizes Google Docs. is our persuasive essay presented in our English classes.  Students are able to team up to develop an essay that supports or refutes specific claims about a current topic.  Our technology department is really supporting the use of tools like Google Docs because it alleviates the stress on our server and frees space for other uses.  As for the future, our district is really pushing the use of Google Calender for our parents.  All staff at the middle school are required to post their assignments on a personal Google Calendar.  Parents are then able to add our calendars to their own to monitor homework and changes in our plans.