google docs vs. Microsoft Word and Excel

Hypothetically my school is going to switch to google docs for word processing and spreadsheet needs.  How do I feel about that?

I've had only one experience with google docs, and I didn't enjoy it.  Everything was going along fine and then data I was extracting from another source was pasted onto the page and I couldn't do anything on the google doc.  The entire page froze.  I couldn't continue with my project, I couldn't get out of the page, and I didn't want to lose all my information.

I found out in class that I was attempting to copy and past from another source and that sometimes google docs will not allow the amount of data or types of data that are being copied. 

If I had to choose between google docs and Microsoft Word/Excel I would choose Microsoft.  I have more experience with Microsoft and I have never run into the freezing problem like I did with google docs.  I really like the applications that I have with Excel, and I believe there are so many ways that students would be able to easily document and track grades, projects, experiments, mathematical equations, almost anything they could think of.

My answer, as I'm finding is typical with me, comes down to my comfort level.  I am comfortable with Microsoft Word and Excel.  If I was forced to switch to google docs I would need to take time to learn the system so that it could become as effective a tool for me as Microsoft is, but I really prefer to not have to take that time.

Define Social Bookmarking

From the discussions we have had and the articles I've read social bookmarking is a great way to keep valuable sites that I would find organized.   Since I'm not typically an organized person, this could be a really good tool for me to use.

As a student, in preparation for the Technology Article Notebook Project it will be important for me to get organized and stay organized.  As I visit worthwhile sites I will need to conserve time and be able to quickly get back to useful information to extract additional information.  The unorganized electronic world I currently live in would find me searching for these sites continuously or having hundreds of sites handwritten in my notebook.

As a student and a teacher, another benefit of social bookmarking is the "social" part that allows others to view and take advantage of the time others have taken to research material.  I expect that I will need to be critical in my decision-making of who I will look at to view bookmarks, but this could potentially save me a huge amount of time if I build a strong base of friends and colleagues who have bookmarks that I can trust.

This type of system in technology leads me to the big "ah-ha" moments of figuring out how other people can accomplish so much work in so little time.  They are working smarter, not harder!

Post 2 - Class #2 - T. Blatt EDU 610 2/13/11

After reading the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by Mark Prensky I took the following notes:
I'm definitely a Digital Immigrant (seemingly from a very, very far away country!!)

I can absolutely see the value of setting up teaching tools that cater to the Digital Natives.  To not set up teaching tools that cater to them puts them in a position of not being able to do their best work and to not completely learn what it is that I would be attempting to teach them.

How should I assess the status of all my students/staff - whether or not they are Digital Natives or Digital Immigrants?   I would need to know this to be able to work best with the group in my class/work setting.    I am expecting I would need to have a discussion about what both terms mean and then poll the group on their comfort level with technology, and also poll the types of technology they are familiar with.

How will I effectively work with a mixed group of Natives and Immigrants??

How many students over the years have not learned to their fullest capacity because the teachers taught with one focus and didn't differentiate to cater to their style of learning?   How different would my capacity to learn have been if teachers would have made games out of the learning concepts needed?
          
If I don't change my thinking about the effective use of technology, how many students/staff would be able to reflect later in life that I stunted their capacity to learn due to my close-mindedness?

Post 1 Digital Natives/Net Gen - T. Blatt EDU 610

Sunday, February 13, 2011, 11:45 AM

This concept was so enlightening to me.  I am not a Net Gener, and technology is something I have tolerated rather than embraced.  The idea that people can prefer and even flourish with so much technology happening around them at the same time is mind-boggling to me. After reading the first 2 chapters of Educating the Net Generation I had an "ah-ha" moment that the way I think and learn is not the way that Digital Natives and Net Geners learn, and I will be doing a great disservice to students/staff that I work with if I don't begin to embrace the technology that is available to us. I grew up with teachers that had little or no technology available to use, and that is what I am used to or comfortable with.  In Chapter 2 under the heading of "Interaction" there are two sentences that state: "Students do best when they actively construct their own knowledge.  In addition, there is a positive correlation between interaction and student retention."   I quickly realized from this reading that teachers are doing a great disservice to their students when they try to have their brains functioning at the much slower process of lecture/no technology than if they would have them actively engaged to the fullest capacity possible with the technology they do have available. I have also had to question my thoughts about technology in reference to how I am currently parenting my 9 and 12 year olds.  As I have said, I am not comfortable with technology and I could tell you all the pitfalls of technology that you should be worried about - online predators, legal issues that could occur due to inappropriate posts, family members becoming distant from each other due to reverting to electronic interactions rather than personal communication - and I have made decisions about the amount of technology that my children can have based on those fears.   What I am realizing now is I am potentially handicapping my children because the world of technology is moving quickly around them and I am refusing to allow them to participate in most of those avenues.   My children are part of the Net Generation, but I am stunting their knowledge and growth with technology because of my fears for their safety. This first week's readings were so enlightening to me!  I have a lot of work to do in order to get on board with embracing technology - but I am so excited about it.