Report back on one of the new features in Google Docs
There have been a lot of major upgrades and features added to Google Docs over the past year. Use this webpage to explore and then do a deep dive on one of the features that you didn't previously know about. Use your Google Apps account and try to use the new feature to do something concrete.
Report back in the thread below in response to the following.
1) Which new feature did you try?
2) What did you discover?
3) What links might help someone else learn more about it?
4) What clever instructional uses might this feature have?
Challenges:
Latest discussions
- 1 of 3
- ››
Comments
Response to New Google Docs Features
1) Which new feature did you try?
I tried the translation feature in Google Docs and I embeded a PowerPoint presentation in my website.
2) What did you discover?
I am very excited about the translation option because I have students whose parents do not speak English well and this will be useful for sending information home as well as speaking on the phone. I have a basic knowledge of Spanish so I can read the letter on the phone. The PowerPoint option on the website will obviously be a great tool for my students to review what we covered and see what they missed if they were absent.
3) What links might help someone else learn more about it?
The Google Docs site is pretty self-explanatory. I do not know of other sites that would be helpful.
4) What clever instructional uses might this feature have?
The PowerPoint feature will be handy to organize my files for future use. As mentioned above, it will also be helpful for students to return to information covered in class and study for exams.
1) Which new feature did you
1) Which new feature did you try?
I tried the new paginated view option in GoogleDocs.
2) What did you discover?
This is great for organizing larger documents and makes them much clearer.
3) What links might help someone else learn more about it?
GoogleDocs explains very well. I don't think any other sites would be needed to understand it.
4) What clever instructional uses might this feature have?
This feature will help me assign a certain number of pages of reading for homework within one document. Otherwise I would have to break up the original and upload numerous different documents.
Flashcards in spreadsheets
I played around with the Flashcard feature in a spreadsheet of math vocab words.
This is a great tool, though one of the things I discovered was that it is currently not possible (from what I can see) to put an equation into a spreadsheet . So if I want to provide a definition, I cannot add a formula to go with it unless I save it in GIF format first and then add it to the spreadsheet.
The Help feature is good, and I don't know that any outside sites would be particularly useful. Pretty self-explanatory, and the process to embed the flashcards in a site seems simple enough.
This makes for a great study tool that is accessible from any computer, which solves my past issue of students losing their flashcards when we use them. If I could solve the problem of how to put equations into spreadsheet cells, I'd use this feature for problems as well as definitions - it would make a good way for students to test themselves.
Inserting Images into Spreadsheets
1) Which new feature did you try?
I investigated inserting images into spreadsheets.
2) What did you discover?
I discovered that there are a lot of ways that image can be inserted into a spreadsheet using google docs. It is very cool, that the image can be inserted outside of a cell and within a cell.
3) What links might help someone else learn more about it?
https://docs.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=87037
4) What clever instructional uses might this feature have?
2 uses:
I think adding a graphic to a spreadsheet can better connect the spreadsheet to the data it is recording. For example if I am in a lab and recording the height a ball after successive bounces, adding a picture of this would add a lot for both the students and any observers. It takes the plain data and connects it to a real life visual.
A second use is in creating flashcards or creating a list of vocab terms. Embedding images can be really helpful for this!
1) Which new feature did
1) Which new feature did you try?
I tried flubaroo to grade a mock SAT quiz I gave to my students.
2) What did you discover?
I found that I can grade a class of quizzes in less than 60 seconds, once I set up the answer key.
3) What links might help someone else learn more about it?
I found this link very helpful: http://dave.abouav.com/flubaroo-demo/
4) What clever instructional uses might this feature have?
This is a way to be able to give quick feedback to students once they've taken an assessment. Obviously, the faster we can give feedback, the more meaningful it can be, as the information is still fresh in the students' minds.