Google Offline Editing

Great news for all of you Google Docs users. Offline editing is back after a several year absence. Now, if you don't have an Internet conncection, no problem. Make your updates and they will be automatically be updated when you do connect. Here is some info from Google.

Here is also video. WARNING: No sound! :(



Please be aware that to edit offline you will need the latest Chrome browser or OS. Also, offline editing is currently only available for docs. Google is hoping to extend this capability to spreadsheets and presentations in the future.

But for now, Google docs users should rejoice about this update!

Thanks.

SlideRocket Revisited

In my quest to find decent online tools for my students to use that are not name Google Docs, I talked about SlideRocket, an online presentation tool. My students had the choice to use SlideRocket or Prezi for a class presentation. SlideRocket worked well and the students seemed to enjoy it. It has a feel a little closer to PowerPoint and that appealed to some. I had to present to my district's board of education last week and chose to use SlideRocket. I liked it a lot.

Now, with SlideRocket's partnership with Google Apps for Education, students have one more choice to publish their work online. If you haven't tried SlideRocket out, give it try!

Thanks.

Alternatives to Google Apps for Education

I have been pushing my school districts for the past few years to adopt Google Apps for Education as an alternative (not a replacement) to Microsoft Office. It is also a great way to give students space to store and share documents online. The Gmail package, calendar, and Google Sites are also impressive. Finally, around the holidays, our Sparta Area Schools was set up to use Google Apps for Education. I was pumped. My freshman classes were studying careers, so I set up a project utilizing Google Apps with career exploration. Here is what I found. Google Apps is not very good and my students hated it. There was a huge uproar as students begged to use their Office products. Be careful for what you ask for I guess.




However, this raised a question in my mind. I had heard so much about Google Apps for Education and districts adopting it and using it all over the nation. But, was there something out there in the cloud that was better? That has been my quest lately. To find alternatives to Google Apps for Education. I don't know that I can find the total package the Google offers of Email, calendar, productivity tools, Website builder, Forms, etc. But, I feel that I can find alternatives to some of these tools that are easy to use and offer more robust features.

Check back in the coming weeks to see what I can find. Thanks!