How Google Docs is Useful for Students By: Jennifer Brown and Nathaniel Hèbert August 12th,2014

Introduction Google Docs is a free online office suite. For our Group Analytical Report, we explored if it would be a good tool for students. We hypothesize that a free program suite that can be accessed at any computer and by multiple users at once would have advantages for students. To confirm this we used 3 different types of data: electronic, print, and empirical. Our results found that it can be a useful tool for students even though it has limitations. This presentation of our research will attempt to help you decide if Docs suites your needs.

Overview ★ What is Google Docs? ★ History ★ Methods ○ Data Triangle ★ Results ○ Explanation and Examples ★ Discussion ○ Pros and Cons ○ Usefulness for Students ○ Impacts ★ Conclusion

What is Google Docs? Docs is free web-based office suite embedded in Googles Drive service, which enables User “cloud” storage, file-sharing, and collaborative editing. Docs consists of: ★ Docs - Comparable to MS Word ★ Sheets - Comparable to MS Excel ★ Slides - Comparable to MS Powerpoint Docs was released in It can be accessed for free through the Google Apps page.

★ Originated from two separate applications: Writely and Google Spreadsheets. ★ In February 2007, A Beta Version of Google Docs was developed from writely, and made available to Google Apps users Google Apps ★ On September 17, 2007, Google released a presentation program for Google Docs, formally known as Google presentation or Google Slides. presentation program History

★ On April 26, 2012, Google launched Google Drive. This application works with Docs as a storage service, allowing files to be accessed offline as well as online. With the release of google drive the features of Google Docs began being further developed and refined into what it is today.Google Drive History (continued)

Research Triangle We triangulated our research by using The Research Triangle which includes three types of resources: ★ Electronic Resources ★ Print Resources ★ Empirical Resources The Research Triangle

★ Electronic Resources ○ Google searches ★ Print Resources ○ Technical Communication Today, by Richard Johnson-Sheehan ★ Empirical Resources ○ Used Docs Applications for Group Analytical Report and Group Online Presentation Methods (continued)

Results We discovered the following about Google Docs: ★ Autosaves documents so changes are not lost ★ Edit documents anytime, and anywhere with your phone, tablet, or PC. (we did run into some bugs) ★ Documents can be worked with offline through Drive ★ It can be accessed by multiple users simultaneously ★ It is more menu-based and time consuming ★ Not as complex as Microsoft Office programs ★ Documents can be downloaded in different formats

★ Also known as Google Docs. ★ Utilizes smart editing and styling tools to enhance your documents visual appeal. ★ Add to your document anytime, and anywhere with your phone, tablet, or PC. ★ Open and edit Ms Word Files, and convert google Docs to MS Word Files.

Example - Word vs Docs: If Docs files are not downloaded properly, it will not display the formatting properly in other programs as shown above.

★ Also known as Google Sheets. ★ Features colorful Charts and Graphs. ★ Has built-in formulas, pivot tables and conditional formatting that saves time and simplifies task. ★ Work simultaneously on a single spreadsheet. ★ Chat while working, and leave comments/messages for returning contributors.

Example - Excel vs. Sheets: Sheets has a simpler graphic, shows less information and commands are more menu based than icon based like Excel

★ Also known as Google Slides. ★ Access and add to presentation from vitually anywhere ★ Autosaves progress ★ Offers thousands of Fonts, Themes, and Styles. ★ Works with embedded video, audio, animations, and more

Example - PowerPoint vs. Slides: The PowerPoint graphic on the left is more complex and takes up more space than the Slides graphic on the right.

Discussion: Is it a good choice for students? Pros: ★ Students can receive more direct support from professors, and fellow students ★ Progress towards meeting deadlines can be tracked ★ Autosave saves changes as you go without a drive Cons: ★ Some students have a hard time editing someone elses work. ★ Requires slightly faster internet connection ★ Menu oriented format makes it more time consuming to use

Discussion (continued) Pros: ★ Access files from any computer with internet ★ Document security ○ ”Google assures users that it keeps all data safe and private unless the user chooses to share files with others(2)” Cons: ★ May experience “bugs.” or glitches from the internet. ★ May experience Loss of some formatting. ★ More complex Docs do not convert perfectly to MS Office files. ★ Still not recommended for sensitive information.

Pros: ★ Makes online classes more collaborative ★ Work simultaneously on group projects ★ Comments and questions can be posted in margins ★ It is free Cons: ★ Not as developed as MS Office ○ Less features then MS Office ○ Graphics are less complex than MS Office and take more space. ○ Less info is displayed Discussion (continued)

Usefulness for Students ★ The instant message and comment features offer faster and more direct communication than . ★ Autosave maintains an extensive revision history for future reference. Changes are not lost an group progress can be tracked. ○ Any group member can access the document at any state that it appeared in the past. ★ No need for using a drive ○ No worry about forgetting the documents or computers crashing.

Usefulness for Students (continued) ★ Makes online collaborative group learning possible for larger groups of individuals ○ allows multiple individuals to edit a document ○ allows simultainious distance learning and collaboration ★ Access from any computer and can also be used on smart- phones through the apps ○ this is important for students using a public computer and traveling students ○ Can also be downloaded to work on offline through Google Drive

Impact on Corporate and Personal Communication ★ A free cost effective business tool ★ Can be used for group work-projects ★ downloadable in different program formats ○ permits a larger variety of users who may not have the same OS or applications ★ Offers practical organization for a business ○ Able to have your calendar, s, and websites tied together in one easy accessible Drive. ★ Documents can be translated into other languages

How Can Google Docs Be Used In Engineering? 1.You can give a presentation on a product with Google Slides ★ As a engineer working in a team, you can work alone creating a presentation for your team, or work with your team creating a presentation for your customer. Implement pictures, diagrams, and video elements to enhance your work. 2. Show the sucessfulness of a product with Google sheets. ★ Implement colorful graphs and charts to show exact numbers, and expectations. Sheets Includes built in statistical math functions, and formulas that convert from binary to decimal to hexadecimal to octadecimal, and so on and so forth. 3. Piece together a engineering description with google docs. ★ For on the go engineers, this could be a great tool used to put together a technical description. Selected engineers can be given full or limited access to your documents depending on whether you want their help, or simple feedback. All work and documents are secure on google drive, with easy publishing options at your discretion.

Recommendations We would recommend Google Docs for: ★ We would also recomend for simple documents ★ Group projects ★ Accessing documents from different computers ★ Users with some knowledge of menu based software ★ Use in international or distance collaborations We would also recommend comparing Docs with other free office suites like Zoho or Apache OpenOffice

Conclusions Google docs is a good tool for students, especially if: ★ They are working in groups ★ The documents being used are simple ★ Documents need to be accessed from multiple computers or devices ★ MS Office is too expensive ★ Students have enough software knowledge to download files to more commonly used formats.

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