Yes, we all know Google is master of the search universe, but did you know some of the other cool stuff Google is developing? One awesome collaborative tool for the digital student is Google Docs.
If you’ve used it before, skim down a couple sections for highlights of some less-used and new tools available in Google Docs. But here’s some basic information if you need an overview…
The basics first
Google Docs is most aptly compared to a wiki, so go read that article first if you’re curious. Similarities include the ability to upload documents in several formats (such as MS Word, Powerpoint, and Excel), the ability to edit privacy settings, and the ability for any number of collaborators you may choose. Contrary to some beliefs, you do NOT have to have a Gmail account in order to use Google Docs – any email will do. If you don’t have an account yet, it’s easy to start one…
NetworkEducation for Beginners
- Go to docs.google.com
- Explore some of the different types of documents you can create on Docs by clicking on the icons for Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Drawing, or Forms. Documents works pretty much like MS Word, Spreadsheet works pretty much like MS Excel, and Presentation works pretty much like MS Powerpoint, which most people are more familiar with; so I’m not going to spend much time talking about those. But if you want some tutorials or directions on those, go here and watch some of the tutorial videos https://www.youtube.com/docs
- Click on Try Google Docs Now to try a live demo. To start an account, click the Get Started button. Fill in the required information: email, password, some demographic information.
- Go to your email and click on the verification link.
- Go back to docs.google.com and log in.
- You should see a screen like this — click to see a bigger version with some highlights:
- Choose Create New document, spreadsheet, or presentation. Create and save a couple practice files, click Share to invite your best friend to collaborate, and by now you’re ready to go on to the….
NetworkEducation – More advanced stuff!
Google Docs, being Google, is always thinking up new stuff. And, if you’re reading this very much after it was written, chances are the following is all old news, but, hey, maybe you’ll still learn something.
Several cool tools are practically custom-created to make life easier for the digital student:
- Templates. Search the templates or click on the Browse Templates Gallery at the top (next to the search box).
a. Is your roommate talking about making resumes and coverletters, and you don’t know the first thing about those? Check out the samples and templates here.
b. Did your last credit card statement elicit shrieks of pain from your already-thin wallet or a strict talking-to from the Bank of Dad? Try one of the monthly budget planners here – there’s even this one that will give you recommended amounts for each of their suggested categories, once you enter your total monthly income. (I know, we’re all students and our monthly income is probably negative… but, if there’s any income, give it a try!) - Optical Character Recognition. If you have captured text on your scanner or camera, and the file’s a .jpg, .gif, .png, or .pdf, you can try the OCR function in Google Docs. Read more here.
The requirements for what it can recognize are pretty strict (unique fonts or sizes, handwriting, graphs, charts, or images will confuse it), text must be aligned straight left-to-right (not even a slight angle), it will probably lose some of the formatting, and you still need to proofread because it won’t be 100% accurate. Having said all of that, I’m sure it will improve as time goes on.
a. Try it using the Upload button from the main page if you want to save yourself from having to re-type in a bunch of text.
b. Uncheck the first tick box and check the second tick box (“Convert text from PDF or image files to Google Docs documents.”)
c. I tried it, and my first file was too big – it can only OCR a relatively-small file size, though the upload page doesn’t actually say what size is OK. It will open a Doc with the image and the extracted text below. The resulting text on mine was perhaps only around 60% accurate, and quite comical, but admittedly I challenged it with a picture that did not follow all of the strict requirements above. (Hey, I’m just setting the bar high!) - Drawings. I personally had never used this function before, so it was great fun to try this out. (Much better than Paint – wow, did this ever bring back memories of wasting time in elementary school computer classes….)
a. Click on Create New and choose Drawing.
b. The tools available are pretty self-explanatory. Here’s a sample work of fine art:
As you can see, there are tons of creative shapes available, straight / curved / arrow connectors, text boxes, easy color fill and line variations, and more.
c. One relatively new and cool addition is the ability for those straight lines to stay connected to your shapes when you move them around the screen. This would be especially nice when you have to do lots of editing and rearranging of bits and pieces. But be aware: you have to connect the straight lines to the red dots that appear on the edges of your shapes in order for the lines to “stick” when you move them. Also, as you can see below, the curved lines don’t “stick” to the shape, even if you try to attach them to the red dots. That might be a nice addition (hint, hint, Google).
- Forms. I’ve used other free survey-generator tools available on the web, and I must say this compares favorably in its ease of use and options for questions.
a. Click on Create New and choose Form.
b. In the form itself, type in the title and the help text, if desired. Change the drop-down menu to get different choices for the question formats, and enter your text.
c. You also have the options of making questions required or not, and directing the reader to a different page depending on what answer they gave to a question.
d. Google publishes it in a page that one can still tell it’s a Google Docs page, but without extra ads or clutter, so this too receives a passing grade from me. Here’s a sample form when it’s published. And since you’ve read this far, will you please kindly go take our 2-minute survey and help us improve our blog? Thanks!
