GOOGLE DOCS RULE!!!

Google Docs, what is it and why should I use it?

The first thing you should know is that Google Docs is free! Free is always a key word to look for when checking out new software. If it's free, there is no cost involved in giving it a try. Secondly, this free software is web-based, meaning that you do not have to download or install anything on your computer. Web-based software is excellent because the data is accessible from most computers with an Internet connection. And, since your docs are all stored remotely in Google's servers, you don't have to worry about losing data from a hard drive crash or nasty virus.

Now that you know that it is free and is web-based, you might want to know what it actually does. Google Docs is a program that allows the user to share common editable programs including:

• Documents (up to 500KB) HTML files, plain text files(.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc), Rich Text (.rtf), OpenDocument Text (.odt) and StarOffice (.sxw), PDF Files (up to 10MB from your computer, 2MB from the web)

• Presentations (up to 10MB from your computer, 2MB from the web, 500KB via email)
  Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps).

• Spreadsheets (up to 1MB)
  Comma Separated Value (.csv), Microsoft Excel (.xls) files and OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods).
  

Why would you want to share these programs? Well, you could share them with yourself, so that you don't have to carry around a jumpdrive or store documents on email. When you do this you create multiple files creating possible problems. Google Docs can also be shared with whomever you choose, including members of a collaborative group.

As an education major college student, I have been placed in many group situations. I have found it very inefficient to email members a product, only to have it edited and returned (or vice versa). With Google Docs, this process is streamlined, the original work can be edited by both parties, even simultaneously. Once a person edits the product, it reflects when and who did the work. Another advantage of Google Docs is the timeliness of editing. Once its saved (or auto-saved) anyone else can see the results instantly.

Watch this video to get a visual on how it works or go to Google Docs and get started right away!