I have the assignment Mr.Z, but the computer won't load the file!!

This year I started doing math presentation in my Algebra 1 Class. All of the students have a PC in class, and most have access outside of class to a computer. So I allowed my students to present their projects using what ever tool they thought would work the best for them. For the most part this worked out ok, but some students had issues with program compatibility.

Some students had various versions of M$ works or other programs and when then attempted to load them at school they did not work. Some groups had issues when they tried to merge a groups files together that information was lost.

I think I finally found a possible solution. docs.google.com. There is a great presentation at K12 Online conference 2007 on using google docs in the classroom. I have started to try this with some of my students and it has provided us with a great solution.

Students can now edit the same presentation at the same time from different locations. Their files are stored on the Internet so floppy disks getting erased, or USB keys getting lost are no longer an issue.

There are only a couple of downsides to worry about. If the Internet goes down or you don't have high speed access, you can't use google docs. It is not M$ office. It does not have ALL the features of a full M$ office suite, but for what is needed for classroom presentations, or reports it works well.

I plan on reporting back here if I find a feature that it is lacking that prevents us from using the tool. But for now it just works.