Thing 18

I always forget how useful Google Docs is. I frequently used Microsoft Office with the track changes feature in graduate school when I was working with groups on papers. However, I would find it difficult to keep up with the different versions and would often have several different drafts of the same paper saved on my computer. Google Docs seems to help with this problem. Though I guess I would worry about accessing a certain document if I did not have Internet service or if there was some sort of interruption or technical problem on the site. But I guess this would be the same risk as a malfunction in my computer or emailing a document. Both have risks, so I guess it is always good to have a back up.

I am wondering if this tool could serve a similar purpose to a WIKI. I am thinking of the friends that are going camping from the video about wikis. Couldn't they equally create a Google Doc about their camping adventures? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of each?

A great online tool that I used for collaborative lesson/unit planning when I was in graduate school is called the Collaborative Curriculum Design Tool (CCDT). "The Collaborative Curriculum Design Tool is a web application that supports the development and dissemination of lesson plans and curriculum units that foster student learning through the application of the Teaching for Understanding Framework (WIDE World website)." It functions similarly to a Google Doc in that it is an online tool where many contributors can add and edit. However, it uses a certain teaching framework and is more specifically tailored to curriculum design. This would be a great way for teachers at our school (or any school) to "get together" to design curriculum through the summer or throughout the year without sitting in hours of meetings.