Thing #13 - Web-Based Applications

In my exploration of Zoho Writer, I couldn't find anything that I don't have in a Word or Appleworks document. I like the fact that you don't have to learn how to do something new, you use Zoho just like any other word application. There is a definite plus in creating document through a web based application. I know I have run into version problems between school and home as well as between my daughter's new laptop and my computer, this problem will be corrected when using a web based application. It is easy to import a document you have previously created and saved on your computer. So anything I have done I can import and then access from school. I don't necessarily have to save to my jump drive any longer. What I see as most beneficial is the ability to inline comment. As an English/Writing teacher this would work great when we peer edit or I grade a piece of writing. The only thing that I feel is not great is the limited number of fonts and sizes for what I need on a personal level but that is a great thing when students are limited. They won't waste time playing with the many different fonts.

I posted this blog through the publisher and then came in to edit it because I forgot to mention that it was written and published through Zoho. I also had another thought this is just like shopping for clothes not every piece of clothing out there will fit or look right on each person, you have to try on a lot to see what fits and looks right on you. With so many options available in Web 2.0 (Zoho and GoogleDocs, Flickr, Snapfish,Picassa, etc) part of Learning 2.0 is to explore all of these options and choose the one that is the best fit for you!