MY WRITELY space morphed into Google Docs overnight. We use Writely on four modules at Tipperary Institute and many students wonder why they would ever need to load Word or Excel onto their laptops when they can do all the work online.
I point out that the day will come when they're trapped in a cocoon (like an aircraft or a high-speed train) with no hope of an internet connection. Then I mention they may even have to maneuver on the internet over a dial-up connection. Try using Google Docs without broadband and you'll be happy to have a local copy of a word processor.
Google Docs allows students to create spreadsheets and written documents through a browser. They can access them in a single location while sitting side-by-side in a lab of 20. They can publish their information on blogs and Web pages, and export to a variety of common file formats. We're doing most of those things on the multimedia degree programme every week.
