GoogleDocs



An excellent tool for collaborative work.

docs.google.com - click here to create a google account for use with googledocs.

Pupils are able to share information and documents (word, powerpoint, spreadsheet and drawings) with each other. They can work on a document at the same time and see what each other are adding //in real time//.

This is best used as a homework task as the school computers do struggle with it.

Pupils do have to sign up for this. Google has a 13+ year old policy to sign up as well, which is something to keep in mind.

Accounts are quickly created. If the pupil already has a google account (@googlemail.com or @gmail.com email address) then they are set to go. Others will have to sign up. It is now possible for them to sign up using an existing yahoo, aol or hotmail account - a vast majority of our pupils have email addresses from these providers.

It is important that if you are doing group work collaborative learning (for example, getting them to create a powerpoint) that you get the group to swap email addresses and write them down **carefully** in their homework planners. They will need these email addresses to add each other. I suggest giving a responsible person of the group the role of 'leader' and get them to make sure they have carefully copied down everyone in their group's email addresses. They are then able to create a new document to collaborate on and click Share before entering the email addresses of those for the project to be shared with.

I then get them to download the powerpoint as a PPT (powerpoint file) and upload it to their wikispaces page.

media type="youtube" key="wxbqXvW777U" height="315" width="560" gogoledocs youtube community for more information.