Thing 8: Document sharing in the Cloud

I have created an American Corner Programs Spreadsheet and shared with 23 things administrators and my colleagues who is responsibile for the newly setup Kaohsiung American Corner programs.

1. How might you use Google Docs as an alternative to the standard document creation tools in Microsoft Office?

If I go on training and stay in the hotel and only the public computer available, I can use the Google Doc. to create/edit a document or a spread sheet. We can also use the cell phone to access the google doc, so I can read the doc. when I don’t have a computer.

2. What drawbacks did you notice in Google Docs, if any?

Google docs only has basic function, for example, merge, wordart, smartart are not available, not as powerful as Microsoft word. It is a web base service, if no internet, then can not access this google doc.

3. Describe your experience of collaborating on a single document with multiple users.

I used the google doc. to plan a family reunion lunch – hot pot. First I wrote down the items and quantities of food we need, and then sent it to my family members, asked them to fill out what they want to bring. I also used ”Create Event w. these people” to send out the invitation. It is very convenient, I shared this spreadsheet to all the guests. Eveyone is editing the same docs, it will be updated instantly, there will be no version chaos.