Feb 18 2008
Google Docs can save your life…
Ok- maybe Google docs can’t save your life, but it will surely save you time.
And it’s much more than an online alternative to Word and other word processing programs.
(If you already use Google docs, skip ahead to the NEW SURVEY FEATURE section)
For example: you are in charge of editing the district honor band/choir/jazz program for the upcoming festival.
BEFORE GOOGLE DOCS: send out an email with an attachment of the program to your colleagues for review and revision. Then you wait for a reply email with an attached document from 3 or 4 colleagues. Oh wait- Joe Smith at Central High doesn’t have Word on his computer and can’t read your document. Oh shoot- you can’t remember which revision you sent to Mary Jones at West High. @#$! I can’t find those stupid emails…who did I send the final revision to? I have to search through my sent items- wait I’m at home and can’t log-on to my district email.
AARRRGH!
AFTER GOOGLE DOCS:
You create the draft program for the district festival in Google docs. Then you share the document allowing others to become collaboraters. 
You send one email to the people with a link to the document.
Then when your invitees receive the email, they will be directed to the document via a link where they can add, revise and make changes to a document on-line.
No more stacks of emails and confusing attachments.
NEW SURVEY FEATURE-
Now this is really cool! Here is an excerpt from the Official Google Docs Blog:
…we’ve noticed that, in some cases, you want to collect just a tiny bit of information from dozens, scores, or even hundreds of users or more. Some of them are Google Docs users. Some of them are not. Either way, you don’t always want them all mucking around with the whole spreadsheet and you’re tired of telling those new to Google Docs that they don’t need to switch to Gmail just to use Docs (huh? you didn’t know that either?).
Enter the new Survey Tool. In conjunction with the Google Docs speadsheet forms, you can easily create an on-line survey that allows users to input data via a simple form that is then entered directly to a spreadsheet that you control. It is so easy to generate a simple form using fill-in-the blank or check box responses, or multiple choice according to your need. Immediate applications could include:
*Survey parents about your program with multiple choice items.
*Find out what pieces are your students favorites with a simple survey.
*Create a list of possible repertoire for an upcoming festival; create a survey; email your colleagues for responses; compile and publish the results.
More advanced applications could include:
*After uploading honor band or choir applicant mp3’s to an online hosting service like imeem, create a survey form with responses such as mp301, mp302, mp303 etc. to anonymously represent each applicant; email the form to your adjudicators who listen to the mp3’s and then score each applicant via the on-line survey. Each response entered on-line via the survey form is given a time stamp that shows up in your spreadsheet and each respondent can see what the other respondent, in this case adjudicator, has entered.
This is important for adjudicators who want to see if their score is in line with the other scores. Think about it: no more all day Saturday honor band/choir cd listening sessions- each judge could listen to and score applicants on-line from home.
Check out the links below for some screen-shots of the new survey tool and some other in-depth uses of this tool. How will you use this Web 2.0 goodness in your program. Comment below.
