We discussed issues of using presentations with google vs Microsoft Powerpoint. One solution is to introduce web 2.0 tools.
Some schools are using the portal exclusively for student use and are rethinking this. They may be asking to have Microsoft Office available as well as the portal.
I don't see a school using one or the other exclusively. As schools develop the use of Google Docs I see most of the students using these opposed to Office programs because they work on a variety of platforms and are free. I see teachers still using Office because it is a more powerful tool.
ReplyDeleteI like having both available for a variety of tasks.
ReplyDeleteAt my school we are in transition here (on the student portal in Feb., netbooks still to arrive) so we're still using both Office and just starting with Docs. Until the entire district is on board and using Google Docs, we'll need to be using Office.
ReplyDeleteI think it's best to have as many resources available to students and staff as long as we remain within financial and physical constraints which I believe this does.
ReplyDeleteI believe both are incredibly useful tools, and would be hesitant to remove the Office programs in our school. Part of our issue is that not everyone spends as much time with the Portal and therefore is not as familiar with Google App. Another issue is that there are obviously certain features in the Office suite that are not available in the Google Apps, and therefore this allows us to extend beyond Google capabilities, as well as provide additional challenges to those students that are more technologically advanced. There truly are advantages to both, and I feel we would be missing out on many opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI would still feel a bit uncomfortable getting rid of the MS Office entirely based on the lack of options and functionality in the Google apps (especially for something like PowerPoint vs Presentation).
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the comments here that having more options is a good thing. I don't think we can replace Office with Google Docs - different people are comfortable with different things. It would a difficult thing to remove something that people are already comfortable with. Until Google Docs PowerPoint improves drastically, for example, I would not want to create PPTs in it.
ReplyDeleteThere are things that you can do in Google that you can't do in MS and vice versa. Until they are completely compatible or equivalent in capabilities, we will probably need to have both platforms for staff and in Info Pro classes. Google is getting better but is still a long ways from offering what Word/Excel/Powerpoint/etc. can do. Maybe we should be adding Open Office into the mix?
ReplyDeleteTeachers using old school students using new - anyone suprised?
ReplyDeleteJust give it a little time - the stragglers will come around - don't force it!
Web-based apps (g-docs, prezi,glogster, etc) are a simply better way to organize your work. Too many docs get misfiled because they end up on USB drives, shared P: drives, cd-roms, My Docs, or a multitude of other places. I agree that some of Google Doc features are limited at this point, but they are being added, as I believe, "as needed" rather than as a carbon copy of the MS Office tools. PS: give up on Powerpoint & Presentations; try Prezi.com. It rocks.
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