Sharing and Caring Through Docs

For the last few years, I have been using Google Docs and have tons of things stored there. Recently I have been really promoting it to my students. They all need to have a Google account for some coursework, so this is just another extension. This semester, I have been editing my thesis students' work, uploading  it to my Docs account, and then sharing their file with them. I am able to share only their file, so they are not privy to my other files or the work of other students. There are choices as to whether you convert the format to Docs format or leave it in MS Word format. They are then able to download the portion I have edited. If the need arose, we could collaborate on the same document in real time via the Internet, but within Google Docs. If I made comments, they could question the comment immediately and not wait for a face to face, an e-mail or Internet chat where we don't have the document in front of us.

Today, I found this article and I installed the free version of OffiSync. I started to play around with it using Office 2010. It works as well as the demo video shows. I will download it onto my computers with Office  2007 and see how it does with that version. It is supposed to work with Office 2003 as well. In the fall, I will push students to consider installing it. Besides saving to Google Docs, you can save to Google Sites too, the location where they create their web sites for one of my classes. Perfecto!

For a well written easy to understand article of getting the best from Word and Google Docs, read this Lifehacker article.

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• Office 2010: Can it beat Google Docs at its own game? (zdnet.com)
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• Google Wants You to Upgrade Office with Google Docs (e1evation.com)
• Google Docs, Are We There Yet? (lockergnome.com)
• OffiSync Now Lets You Co-Author Files With Most Versions Of Microsoft Office (And Google Docs) (techcrunch.com)
• Educational Technology Toolbox (slideshare.net)

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