Why My College Should Make the Switch to Google Docs

1. You can already use it.

If you've ever used MS Word in your life, then you already know how to use Google Documents. Google Documents looks and works just like Microsoft word

Google documents has all of the virtues of the current system - security, accountability, backup - with none of its faults - time, money, space.

2. It's on the Internet.

It's like having your computer with you anywhere in the world. You're at home and you work on a handout, a timetable, a powerpoint presentation or an essay, and when you're finished you save your file; when you come into college the next day, you log in again and all your files are there as you left them.

3. Sharing

When it comes time to submit an assignment the lecture-student relationship is made simpler for everyone. Instead of emailing yourself / burning a CD / copying to USB, you 'share' the file, meaning not that we both have a copy of the file, but that we're sharing the same file. This means no duplicates, no messy email attachments, etc.

4. Compatibibily.

Most students don't own a printer, and rely the library or PACR. If you buy a laptop today, it comes with either MS Works (the classic oxymoron) or Office 2007. Neither of these are compatible with the version of MS Office on any PC on campus.

If you own a MAC, you're further screwed.

It is impossible for any two people to have different versions of Google Docs. This means no problems with compatibility - currently a nightmare in the library. Docs at home, Docs in library / PACR, so no printing or formatting problems.

5. It saves time.

No time is wasted queuing in the library for a computer, no time is wasted trying to get the essay or whatever to look like it did on your computer at home, no time is wasted queuing for 1 of the 2 printers in the library, and no time is wasted going through the current submission process. Aaron and I went to submit two assignments each the other day to the office. We were the only people there and with all the boxes and forms it took more then ten minutes, no lie. This way saves time and money all over the place. Marie can put her - let's be honest - superhuman administrative talent to where it needs to be.

6. It saves money.

No money is spent on ink or paper, nothing can go missing or get stolen, no office space is taken up, and it's free.

We (in the Music Dept) pay 40 euro every year for a 'Photocopying Fee'. This is before we get to do any actual photocopying. For 40e, Reads of Nassau Street will give you 1,300 pages. That's enough to print the Declaration of Independence 400 times. 1,300 pages. Now, subtract the roughly 200 pages I got in notes last year, that leaves you with 1,100 pages unaccounted for. If lecturers put out notes on Google documents, and students hand up essays on Google documents, that probably saves you around 100 pages per student. I don't see a problem here.

7. It's safe

A few months ago, we finally realised that Moodle was pathetically insecure. So now we have to log in twice. Perhaps we should have two gates in the library to make sure non-students can't get in.

Google Docs is secure.

8. It's a skill

''Some students won't be able to use it'', comes the common argument. The temptation to resort to the lower common denominator is always there, but the truth is that there will always be at least one student that will have special needs, be they computer illiterate or blind. You won't find it on the curriculum, but confident use of computers and office software is a skill that we're expected to learn while we're here - I for one would think it best to be ahead of the curve in this respect, if not every possible respect.

It would be wrong to not at least try it.

9. If the Government can do it...

The District of Columbia does it. I think a university can do it.

So let's just do it already. Students are already using it, and a smart college will adapt to rational changes in student behaviour. We can start using Google Documents it in five years when we'll have to, but it's smarter to do it now. Let's just do it. We can pretend that nobody suggested this today, and stick with the current system that everybody hates, or we can do the smart thing and make the switch to Google Documents.

Let's just do it already.