Google Docs, a collaborative adventure.

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Welcome back,

This week we finally explore a tool - Google Docs, which unlike most of the ones we've discussed thus far, is meant to create collaboratively and does so very well .  You can create a project and invite other members to join in and contribute by adding and editing the content.  Another great feature that highlights the collaborative capabilities of Google Docs is the ability to leave item specific comments and for others reply or rectify what was mentioned.  Emails keeping members updated on the comment stream are also a great way to ensure all parties are aware of the progress being made. The cherry on the sundae for me was the ability for multiple users to work on the project simultaneously because I expected to be limited to one person working on the project at a time like I had experienced in many network shared documents.  If you are familiar with this phenomenon, you don't have to fear the dreaded "read only access" message because it doesn't apply in Google Docs - thankfully.

Using this tool for learning purposes to work on spreadsheets, presentations or documents from any computer that is connected to the Internet eliminates the format compatibility issues that you can encounter when using different programs or operating systems while accessing such a project from a USB sticks or cloud storage like Google Drive.  As a side note, I'd like to point out that using Goggle's tools also, by coincidence, brought me back to my Drive cloud storage account which I had neglected but now find a refreshed interest in.  

As a collaborative tool, I can see it being used in an activity where a cohort uses a table as a means to highlight similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages of certain concepts on any given topic as a homework assignment.  

It could also be used by a classroom looking to collaborate in an sketching/drawing activity where many people are submitting ideals for a logo, crest, flag, banner, mascot or any other project where various people have been given a particular task in completing the project as a whole.  A school's sports team crest could also be designed by many people within through this method.

The only reason I wouldn't be able to part with some of my other tools in favor for  one is because it lacks the ability to add the dazzle that some other tools can.  The tools' simplicity, in this case, is both a strength and a weakness from my point of view.  If you are someone who isn't looking for any fancy features that can sometimes make your work standout, you will be at home in Docs.

As a parting note I'd like to add that my experience working collaboratively on a presentation with two other members has highlighted the complexities involved in coordinating a time to simultaneously communicate about the status of our project.  Deadlines being what they are and realtime comunication providing the oppotunity to make sure everyone is on target, we finally managed to pick a time and day where our free time lined-up.  Although this won't always be required, we felt like doing so would be another great learning experience and it sure was.  Staying relevant to the challenges of time manageament and the fact that many of us changed the time on our clocks this weekend, I found a very informative blog post by Richard Bryne on daylight savings time and time zones.  You can learn more about the origins and complexities of managing time by visiting his blog here.

Leave comments below on your collaborative experiences or share some ingenius ways you've seen tools such as Google Docs be used in a learning environment. 

Mathieu Leclerc