Assignment #2 Classroom Activity

Recently I led a class that was exploring Google Docs for the first time. This was a a very interesting and fun activity. Some had used this web tool before but many others had not.

We began by going over the basic components of Google's Document. Most of the group has had experience using Microsoft's Word, so the basic tools of a word processor were not new. Font, size, style and alignment were not new. However there were a couple things that were different. Spell check was not in the same place and Google does not offer nearly as many creative opportunities as MS Word. But as for a being a basic word processor, everyone was able to quickly understand the layout and actions Google Document had to offer.

The real power came with the collaborative aspect. Once we began to connect multiple users to one document the users experience took on a whole new meaning. Users were able to work together online and right next to each other. The conversations drove the work which was documented with in the Google Doc. It was a very productive activity where the true meaning of collaborative online work was experienced.