Google Docs

I've heard recently that student (especially males) like to write more when it is on the computer. I decided to test this theory by going beyond just the standard word processing. A few weeks ago, I introduced my students to google docs, a free website (part of google.com) that allows users to create documents and share them with others to view, edit, or comment on. I was interested when my students jumped right on. Many even used the opportunity to ask me for feedback prior to turning in a final draft. This was something that I had always encouraged, but rarely saw my offer utilized. And while it is too early to see if their writing skills (quality and quantity) increased, but I have enjoyed having a few less papers to carry back and forth.