Documents you create in Google are convenient, shareable, web-accessible, and can even be converted to Word documents, if ever needed. Rather than going straight to Microsoft Word when you want to create a new word processing document, consider launching Google Docs instead. It's become a habit for me now and it's one that I am happy I have adopted. I love having my documents with me anywhere I go. I hope you will, too.
HANDOUTS:
New Docs - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/bwaFES
Be sure to remember to name your Google docs. They always start as untitled and since you never have to save, you never get a reminder to change the title!
Customize Font Menu - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/vg5nnS
Google shows us only a few standard fonts in our menu but there are tons more good ones. Take some time to customize your font menu!
Format Painter - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/j6ejrh
Use this tool to help you match text styles in your document.
Find Matching Text - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/YX1pSq
Along with the format painter, this can be a time-saving feature when you want to make systematic changes to various sections of your document. This tool helps find all text that matches a style you select!
Set Defaults and Use Text Styles - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/dQncdu
Google allows you to set a variety of preferences including a default font, size, style, and more for your new documents. Styles are a nice feature to employ when you want to use consistent formatting within a document and even among all your documents.
Create Text Boxes - WATCH VIDEO: http://goo.gl/dwMh9z
Text boxes can serve a variety of purposes. Google Drawing helps us create these and easily insert them into our documents.
Voice Typing - WATCH VIDEO: https://goo.gl/L0ukIg
You can now dictate into your mic and Google will transcribe to text. Works great - try it out!
Research in Google Docs - WATCH VIDEO: Google's Research Tool
If your students (or your own children!) must write research papers, there's a hidden gem in Google that helps in a terrific way. Don't we wish we had this when we were students!
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The following are some very good video tutorials from the site GCF Learn Free.
Text Basics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xcCMQSV4FU&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691&index=7
This video may appear too basic in places but it introduces a few concepts that are unique to Google. One example is the web clipboard which gives you a storage space (similar to your computer's clipboard) but this clipboard will hold multiple things unlike your computer's internal clipboard. I like this for storing pieces of text that I need to use over and over in different documents.
Formatting Text and Hyperlinks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-pqOoLH6Y0&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691&index=8
Like the previous video, there are some very fundamental skills demonstrated AND some items particular to Google. Note in one place, he mentions the highlighting tool. That's now integrated into the same button that provides text color. This covers how to make web links as well as how to adjust paragraph spacing.
Using Indents and Tabs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAuJ1rTEN7o&index=9&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
Regardless of the word processing tool, tabs and indents are great features to understand and use. Check out how they can help you!
Working with Lists - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5DKg7HWbeA&index=10&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
Learn a little more about formatting bulleted and numbered lists.
Headers, Footers, and Page Breaks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w06nrQfMS1g&index=11&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
See how headers, footers, and page breaks are used to make a newsletter more attractive and readable.
Inserting Images - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niyiur2RluA&index=13&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
The screen layout here is a tad different with some changes Google has made since this video was produced (no icon in the toolbar, for example) but the concepts remain applicable. In particular, note the image search features.
The following are some very good video tutorials from the site GCF Learn Free.
Text Basics - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xcCMQSV4FU&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691&index=7
This video may appear too basic in places but it introduces a few concepts that are unique to Google. One example is the web clipboard which gives you a storage space (similar to your computer's clipboard) but this clipboard will hold multiple things unlike your computer's internal clipboard. I like this for storing pieces of text that I need to use over and over in different documents.
Formatting Text and Hyperlinks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-pqOoLH6Y0&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691&index=8
Like the previous video, there are some very fundamental skills demonstrated AND some items particular to Google. Note in one place, he mentions the highlighting tool. That's now integrated into the same button that provides text color. This covers how to make web links as well as how to adjust paragraph spacing.
Using Indents and Tabs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAuJ1rTEN7o&index=9&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
Regardless of the word processing tool, tabs and indents are great features to understand and use. Check out how they can help you!
Working with Lists - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5DKg7HWbeA&index=10&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
Learn a little more about formatting bulleted and numbered lists.
Headers, Footers, and Page Breaks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w06nrQfMS1g&index=11&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
See how headers, footers, and page breaks are used to make a newsletter more attractive and readable.
Inserting Images - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niyiur2RluA&index=13&list=PLDCE614622E1D2691
The screen layout here is a tad different with some changes Google has made since this video was produced (no icon in the toolbar, for example) but the concepts remain applicable. In particular, note the image search features.