A very engaging, creative innovation provided by Google and all for free!! It's been said "nothing comes for free" or "you get what you pay for", so far Google have proved this not true for the user at least! There are so many templates and the ability to download your own gives even more choice for the user.
As an educational tool it has so many applications in the classroom. You're creativity is the only limitation and perhaps the legal age requirement of 13 years of age an obstacle. However I think if GDocs is embraced by the school, the legal aspect is something that can be overcome. It would need parents to be part of that solution and this could be a good thing as it brings them into the class environment even if only at a technological arms length. For parents who want to be informed and be part of their child's education process, I think GDocs could be a very powerful tool to accomplish that.
I can see many enjoyable learning experiences being created through GDocs that would be fun for the student and teacher. I can see ways of bringing the classroom to the home and vice versa through newsletters, parents comments on work, activities that involve family response or participation. All being accomplished without even leaving the home computer!
This new approach would require a change of mindset (harder for those of my generation!), a change of organization and a change for the better for children living in this computer generated age.
