Google Docs is an office software suite that you can access through a web browser. Users can create and share documents with the online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editors. Google actively tries to recruit teachers to use Google Docs in the classroom and boasts specific advantages over traditional office software. The first is that teachers have the capability to share documents with their students during the writing process. This allows teachers to comment and provide feedback on projects before they are complete, and is more in line with the The National Council of Teachers of English assertion that writing should be taught as a process with continual drafts and revisions.

Another advantage of Google Docs is the ability to share documents. This is especially useful for group projects. Students can all have simultaneous access to a presentation, word document or spreadsheet and teachers can access document records to ensure that each student has made real contributions to a project.

Teachers also use Google Docs to track attendance and grades and share this with other teachers responsible for the same students. Shared spreadsheets can be used for quizzes and tests. Google shares creative ways that teachers have used the docs. One teacher had her students use the collaboration feature in real-time during a presentation. One student delivered the presentation aloud and the audience was able to share thoughts without interrupting. Another teacher had peer reviews take place outside the classroom. When a student was finished a draft, peers could read and comment on the draft from home or study hall, reducing the in-class time necessary for revisions.

Google Docs has many other features, but perhaps the greatest advantage is the price tag. It doesn’t have one! All of Google Docs features are free to use for anyone on any scale. A step-by-step guide, “Using Google Docs in the Classroom” is available here.