Google Docs is a hosted service where you can create, store and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations and online forms. You can work on your own or collaboratively. You can also import docs from MS Office and Open Office.
Some Interesting Uses:
- Using GoogleForms for synchronous polling in the classroom, quizzes, surveys and grading rubrics
- Using GoogleDocs and GooglePresentations for Group Assignments, i.e. outlining readings and group presentations
- Hosting Your Class Handouts in GoogleDocs and linking to them in your course blog or
website
Skype is a free communications and collaboration tool to be downloaded and installed on your computer. You can use it to have text and voice message conversations with others who have Skype for free.
Google Calendar is a free web-based calendar which you can use for your own personal activities or to share with others. It can be integrated into iGoogle and you can also embed it into web pages/blogs.
Slideshare is a site where you can host your presentations and share them with others. Presentations can be linked to at the site itself or else embedded in a web page. You can also synchronise an MP3 audio file (podcast) with the slideset to create a slidecast - a more powerful way of distributing presentations/tutorials.
Flickr is a place where you can store your photos, tag them and share them with others either through a link to the site or by embedding them in your blog or web page.
Keep in touch with colleagues and friends in less than 140 characters. Good for keeping track of current trends, publicizing events and polling (in and out of the classroom).
Edublogs is "the largest education community on the Internet" where you can sign up for a free WordPress-powered blog. The site provides lots of useful information, e.g. how to use your blog with your students and how start a conversation using your blog. An ideal site for educators who want to blog with support.
Bubbl.us is a simple and free web application that lets you brainstorm online. You can:
* Create colourful mind maps online
* Share and work with friends
* Embed your mind map in your blog or website
* Email and print your mind map
* Save your mind map as an image
iGoogle lets you create a personalized homepage that contains a Google search box at the top, and your choice of any number of gadgets below. Gadgets come in lots of different forms and provide access to activities and information from all across the web, without ever having to leave your iGoogle page. Here are some things you can do with gadgets:
View your latest Gmail messages
Read headlines from Google News and other top news sources
Check out local events and news
Store bookmarks for quick access to your favorite sites from any computer
Design your own gadget.
Google Alerts provides you with email updates of latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. For instance if you want to keep up with news about e-learning, type that in as your search term and you will receive notifications of all new Google results that contain that search term. You can also manage the alerts you receive, for example how often you want to receive them.