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Thing # 18- Online Productivity Tools

For this exercise I looked at both Open Office and Google Docs. At first I could not understand why someone who has access to the Microsoft Office package would need these tools. However, I now see that the big benefit for me would be that I could have access to the document I am working on from any computer. I like the idea of placing the document in Google Docs for other teachers who are collaborating with me on something to see and edit. Here are my feelings on each of the programs:



Open Office: It took awhile to download. When it did finally download it put a lot of stuff on my computer. I realize this is necessary to run the program, but it still aggravated me a little. :) It is an easy program to work, though. I think the big disadvantage for my campus would be that it has to be downloaded. However, I do agree that if we did not have Office on our computers already, downloading for FREE would be and advantage rather than a disadvantage.



Google Docs: I think I prefer this one! There is no download needed. One small disadvantage would be that I would have to make sure that the teachers I am working with have a Google account and get training (though not much needed) on how to use this tool. This training would just take time, but this small amount of time would pay off when we collobarate on a paper through Google Docs rather than emailing back and forth.

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