This week we were
asked to review two online applications. I found this a useful exercise. As a teacher,
it is always nice to find quality, free, online applications to use in the
classroom.
Google Documents
The first program I chose to try out was Google
Docs. This is a program that use often and absolutely love. With Google Docs a
user is able to create word and excel documents easily. My favorite feature is
that those documents can be easily shared, and edited with collaborators. Not
only can multiple people work on shared documents, but Google will show you
what changes were made and when. It is a really useful program.
Another feature that I love is that Google
automatically save your documents, and saves them often, so there is no need to
worry about losing data.
With Google Documents, it is also possible to load
existing documents (i.e. Microsoft Word or Excel, etc) into Google Docs to
share. Converting also works in reverse, you can easily download documents and
save them to your computer.
The coolest feature in Google Docs is the form
option. This allows the user to create a survey to send out via email. The form
can be created using whatever questions the user would like, with multiple
answers possible. If someone responds to the form, or completes the survey, the
results are automatically emailed back to the creator. From permission slips to
take-home tests, this option has many, many applications in the classroom.
While Google Docs is not my primary word
processing application of choice, I do find it to be a very easy program to use
on a daily basis with features that make it invaluable to me.
PicMonkey is a program
that I have not used before, but thought I would try out. Usually for my online
photo editing I use Picassa, another Google program. PicMonkey is very similar.
Much like Picaassa, PicMonkey has many photo
editing options: basic editing such as exposure, color, cropping and sizing, as
well as, more advanced options such as overlays, textures and even themes. With editing options such as teeth whitening and spray tan, it is a must have photo editor!
Unlike Picassa, the user does not need to create
an account or download a program to be able to use it. Use is as simple as
dragging a picture.
My favorite feature of PicMokey is the collage creator
option. This option have different layouts and color choices to use to showcase
your photos, it even has background images to choose from.
PicMonkey is an extremely easy program to use. I think it
would be a great way to showcase student learning. Students could create a
collage of samples of their work from throughout the year to illustrate their
growth. It would also be a great program for them to utilize when creating a
project or a report. I will definitely keep it in mind for the future.
