When faced with the "Docs vs. Word" question, I used to always answer it the same way: Word. However, my feelings about GoogleDocs has warmed considerably (as new features/improvements have been made) and I would say that the final product of the document you are creating can be similar in both. As such, it comes down to the following items of consideration:
- Where will the document be created/edited?
- Who will need access to the document/table/image/presentation?
- Will it need to be accessible online?
- Will it be text-heavy, image-heavy, or both?
The answers to all of these questions, considered together, makes the decision for me if I will launch Word -- or fire up my browser. Below, I have addressed each question separately, to illustrate the process that helps me make up my mind "to Docs, or not to Docs":
1. Where will the document be created/edited?
There are many reasons to create a document, table, spreadsheet, or presentation, and where I will need to do the bulk of my work will drive my decision on which app I use to make it. If I am not in a wireless environment, and creation will be expressly on my own laptop, I am likely (out of habit, if for no other reason) to launch my Word 2008 for Mac. I need to have a compatible app throughout the creation process, though, as editing is a constant process for me. Ergo, if the document will be moved around from home laptop to school laptop and beyond, a specific version of Word is not always available. I am more likely to use GoogleDocs in this instance.
2. Who will need access to the document/table/image/presentation?
If the document et al. I am creating is something that is "just for me", then what I use is more driven by convenience than anything. As mentioned above, I have used Word for a long time, and launch it without thought (as I have a home license for the Office suite, and the same version can be found on many of our computers). If I am only bringing a hard copy for mass printing to school, what difference does it make what app I use to create it?
However, and this is increasingly the case in my personal and professional life, changes "on the fly" are necessary, and collaboration/sharing with peers is a must. As such, using a specific version of Word is counterproductive. Having to remember to "Save As" for different individuals with different Word versions is tedious, and being able to share/edit as a group is not conducive to the "email attachment" model of productivity. This, to me, is THE reason to use GoogleDocs over Word: ease of creating and sharing as a group, team, department or entire school district. Items of concern, edits and other changes are not lost along the way, and all of the revisions are trackable to the given individuals who made them.
3. Will it need to be accessible online?
As many items that I create need to be accessible in "the cloud" (as I rarely bring my laptop to a work environment, where computers, tablets and iPods are plentiful), GoogleDocs makes having what I need, where I need it, so easy. If this is not a concern, then the "image-heavy, or not" question that follows lends more weight to my decision. I can always save a document that was made in Word to my personal GoogleDocs account, by importing it. However, if I am going to import it to a GoogleDocs format in the end, why not just start creating it there, in the first place?
4. Will it be text-heavy, image-heavy, or both?
This question is THE reason to use Word: if a document or presentation is very image-heavy. I am continually frustrated by trying to force an image to a location, size or style with an app that was not created for that main purpose. I find Microsoft Office's many document types and layouts (i.e. publishing layout) to be more user-friendly in this instance. I have finished working in GoogleDocs with less-than-perfect alignment and positioning more than once, rather than waste a lot of time formatting in this app. As I am a perfectionist, it makes me grit my teeth when I do this -- and I launch Word, if this is to be shared with a large audience.
I think it is evident that purpose, design and accessibility drive the decision to use GoogleDocs or Word in any given instance. As GoogleDocs becomes more sophisticated, feature-laden and document-diverse, I find I go to it more and more. As my local school district has accounts for all students, teachers and administrators, it is an easy way to keep us all connected and collaborating. With the current financial crunch in all school districts, updated licensing on word processing/Office "suite" products becomes cost-prohibitive very quickly (and different versions of Word means you will send something to someone that they cannot open, eventually). Moving forward, from a teaching perspective, the GoogleDocs option is the more viable one.
