Dix-huit (Thing 18): Online Productivity Tools

I already explored Google Docs for one of the webCT discussions so I'm sticking to it for right now. I do however plan on telling my mother about Open Office since she doesn't have any version of office on her computer and I know she will be vary greatful for the tool (that is as long as it's not a memory/cache hog).
Advantages of Google Docs

• Free
• Easy to share files (with students or other teachers!)
• Has all the important features necessary to get a good working document
• Online storage
• Ability to upload existing files from your computer
• Ability to export (save) files to your computer
• Doesn't require a google account specifically to use it

Disadvantages of Google Docs

• Limited file size (at least with importing files)
• Limited customization (they're going to look a bit more boring)
• Slower processing
• No automatic saving
• If your computer crashes, there is no chance to recover the file.

All in all, I think Google Docs is a cool idea. It's probably really nice if you're out of town without a computer but have an iphone or a blackberry and need to work on a forgotten assignment. As for sharing documents with teachers from the library: unless it's a big campus-wide or department-wide collaboration project, it would just be simpler to post documents to the library website, use a wiki, or email a document if it's to an individual.