Online Tools for Students – Google Docs

If you read my previous post on using Sky Drive you will know that this week I set out to write a blog post about using online document writing tools to write an assignment. Based on that I thought I would test out Microsoft's Sky Drive. It was a fail. It is a cut down version of Word which is missing too much functionality to be useful when it comes to writing up assignments. So I started looking at other alternatives and I remembered Google Docs, now to test its functionality when it comes to writing an assignment.

I have been using Google Docs for a long time but I mainly used it to keep copies of important documents that I might need access to when I am away from home (i.e. my resume). Also if you use Gmail already you will surely have been using Google Docs even if you haven't realised it, whenever you get a document attachment on your email and you choose to view it in your browser you are using Google Docs to do it. So that being said I have found Google Docs a very useful service for backing up and viewing files. I knew it had more functionality than this but I hadn't really needed to use it before now. When I found Sky Drive a failure for assignment writing I focused my attention on Google Docs – and I boy was I surprised!

Google Docs is a great online Word Processor – it picks up the slack where Sky Drive fails. It has a lot more functionality than I ever thought it would. Now I have only reviewed the Document side of Google Docs but you are also able to use it to create and upload Presentations, Spreadsheets, Forms and Drawings.

Anyway one step at a time; here is my list of Pros:

Pros for Google Docs

• Free


• 7+ GB of data storage (and counting)


• Cheap upgrade options if you require more storage


• The ability to upload and share files


• More features than Sky Drive (will cover that below)


• Good on screen page layout


• Good compatibility with other programs


• Files are available on any computer with an internet connection

When I started a new document with Google Docs I immediately noticed an improvement in the layout compared to Sky Drive. While it doesn't have all the fancy ribbons you have come to expect in Microsoft applications Google Docs makes up for that with functionality. The onscreen layout is great – you can see the page margins and rulers, it looks more like a functional word processor (see the image). I copied and pasted what I had already written of my assignment into Google docs. First thing I noticed is that it didn't quite copy over smoothly the numbering went a bit out of whack but never mind that is only a small hurdle. What I noticed most was the indentations that I had for text were actually pushing the text so far over that only a couple of letters per line could be read (that was the formatting in Sky Drive for you) but it was something really EASY to fix in Google Docs. As I mentioned before you can see the ruler for the page and also the tab stops. All I had to do was select the text and move the tab stop and it was fixed! Even better I could insert a Page Break! Meaning I didn't have to worry about going back and checking the review mode to see if I had entered enough lines to push the text to the next page.

I will list a few of the features that Google Docs has that I haven't found in Sky Drive that I think make Docs the better option, this isn't an exhaustive list just the ones that make it useful when it comes to assignment writing:

• Page layout


• Ruler


• Insert page breaks


• Insert equations


• Insert comment


• Insert footnote


• Insert header


• Insert footer


• Table of Contents


• Line spacing options


• Word count


• More compatibility you can download you document as any of the following formats: ODT, PDF, RTF, Text, Word, Html (zipped)

All of these features are great for an online free application; they are all the main features you may need when writing up assignments (especially footers, footnotes and word count). Google Docs also auto saves as you go along making it handy in case you forget to save! I also found Google Docs quicker to respond when switching between the normal view and Print Preview making it easy to double check that it is going to look good on a page. The number of options that you have available to download your document as is also great, depending on what your requirements are you most likely won't need any extra file convertors.

I love Google Docs after my disappointing experience with Sky Drive. But I must find some cons with it to make it a fair review:

Cons for Google Docs

• Requires an internet connection to use


• Some formatting might be lost when you upload a document


• It isn't a complete replacement for your full time Word Processor but it definitely will get you by


• No offline sync option built in

With that last point Google used to have an application called GEARS that allowed users the ability to use Google Docs offline and it would sync when there was an internet connection. That is no longer available but word is Google are looking at a replacement for it.

Like Sky Drive you can also use Google Docs as a backup facility for your important documents to get you out of trouble in the event of a hard drive failure.

Well that about covers it I really love Google Docs J It has all the features you need to get you by when writing an assignment. I don't expect it to completely replace my Word Processing application but then I never intended it to. I wanted to see if someone could get by writing an assignment using only online tools and it looks like Google Docs will make that possible.

Stay tuned for more reviews on online storage systems that will help keep your data safe!