Online Application Reviews

The office suite that I looked at was Google Docs.  Before checking it out, I just assumed it was a place to make documents and store files.  Once I started looking at it, I realized that it was much more.  The most useful part of Google Docs, to me, is the fact that you can collaborate with other people in real time.  I also like that you can share the document with someone else.  For distance learning especially, it would be nice to share drafts of papers or projects and each group member can help to make changes or add things.  I think I would definitely recommend this to a coworker, but when working with upper levels.  I teach Kindergarten and this is something that I think would be over the kids' heads.  The fact that you can collaborate with others without the sole use of e-mail is worth recommending it alone.  However, I also thought it was cool that it had a lot of the same applications as Microsoft Office (adding images, etc.).  I would definitely recommend this application to coworkers teaching older students that are working on a group project.  The students could collaborate without having to be in the same room as one another.  It would have been nice to have when I was in high school and was unable to meet with my group members to work on an assignment!

The image editor that I looked at was PicMonkey.  At first, I thought it was a pretty average image editor, however, after taking a closer look, I realized there are many more options.  I really liked that you could make collages and add different items to your images.  I liked the different backgrounds and fonts that you could add to the actual picture.  I also really liked all of the different photography options that you could change (the color/effect of the picture, the different touch ups, and textures).  I would highly recommend this image editor to my coworkers.  I think it would work well for a project or art class.  With all of the different options, it would really allow students to put their own stamp on a picture and it would really add to a project.  I would definitely recommend this for older students, as I don't think younger students (especially my Kindergarteners) would understand all of the different options.  It would be great for a beginners photography class to use.