08.02.08
Thing 20 – Did Somebody Call for the Google Doc?
I enjoyed my “play” time with Google Docs & Spreadsheets as part of my task for Thing 20. I actually delved into the spreadsheets function and put together the first draft of a document that will hopefully complement the curricular calendar that my 4th grade team has already created for our social studies teaching. My goal is that we use the online spreadsheet to collect and link to primary sources, videos, podcasts, articles, etc. that correspond to the content we focus on through Joy Hakim’s A History of Us, Books 1 and 2. As the year progresses, I hope that we modify and pare down the spreadsheet so that it eventually contains just the sources that are most applicable to the content and more interesting to the students. That’s where team collaboration comes in!
I found the Google Spreadsheets to be easy to use, very similar to Microsoft Excel. I had to seek help on how to create links within cells, but other than that didn’t have trouble putting my thoughts together on the page. When I was ready to invite the members of my team to view the document, I loved how Google allowed me to type up a message to be delivered with the document. That way, my colleagues didn’t receive an invitation to collaborate on a document and think, “What is this?” Also, it was nice to discover that non-gmail users are able to create a Google (not a gmail) account and colloborate in Google Docs; see video:
Other than what I used it for, I can see that the Google Docs & Spreadsheets tool has a myriad of uses. Here are a few I could think of:
- Planning a party: Create a Google Doc to hash out who will plan, bring, bake, do what…
- Build a class birthday calendar: Allow the students to enter their birthday in and see how the document changes
- Monthly Book Club: Invite members to select the month they would like to host, enter the book they’ve chosen, and post directions to their home in a spreadsheet
- Committee Meeting Updates: Choose a person to post a summary of the committee’s discussion following each meeting; keep all committees under different tabs on the spreadsheet so everyone can see how other committees are progressing
- Survey Students: Ask students what they know about an upcoming topic of study to assess prior knowledge and/or interest level
Don’t forget to check out all the Google docs templates available! (or see previous post)
