Thing 13

Zoho Writer and Google Docs

 

 

Zoho Writer.  This was an interesting site, but I found it to be not as user friendly as I would have liked when creating my documents.  It is great for making simple documents and I especially loved the ease of editing and review with the "Review" button at the top.  This would be a great tool for students to proof read each other's writings and it would be easy for them to access this both at home and in school without the necessity of a jump drive.  When typing up a mock document I had issues with the cursor that were frustrating and would prevent me from using this application if this happens every time.  So, all in all, Zoho seems a great tool for simple writing that is "mobile" from computer to computer.

 

 

Google Docs.  I have had a Google Docs account for some time now, using it in the same way I use my Dropbox account - for storage space and the ability to open documents on various computers.  I think this is a great tool and have really enjoyed the ease this online app has allowed for me concerning presentations in various classes and printing documents in various places.  I had never used the Draw function before, so I thought I would give that a try as a part of this "Thing."  I imported a picture from my Google Picasa Album and added some silliness to it.  This is a picture of my brother, Adam, and I going on a Segway tour in Savannah, GA.  I was the only one who had been on a segway before, so the tour guide asked if I would be the "safety person" at the end of our tour group.  I got to wear a special vest and all!  It was a fun time. Here is the link to the picture I created in Google Docs, but I also added a screen shot of it below.

 

 

Students and Google Docs. Google Docs will be great for students to use because of its collaborative abilities.  It was very easy to share my picture, as Google already provides the link needed for sharing any document created.  This can make it very easy for students to share work in group projects or, again, edit one another's work.  I think this would be especially helpful for students needing to work together outside of the classroom but who cannot meet up outside of school.  Since Google Docs provides the basic Office programs with a Word Document creator as well as spreadsheets and presentation creators, this will be an ideal online workspace for students.

 

Google Docs vs Zoho Writer.  Hands down, I prefer Google Docs.  Zoho writer wasn't as easy to navigate and its document creator was not as user friendly as Google Docs.  Since I already have a gmail account as my primary email and use Picasa and Google Reader, it is much easier for me to use Google Docs than Zoho reader, because it is interwoven with many other online tools that I already use.