Google Docs

I love the calendar aspect of the Google applications, because it's very easy to follow, and very easy to use. The color coding and the ability to break the areas down into half-hours makes it very simple to use and resourceful, because it's easy to access in Google, and for people who don't enjoy using large, normal calendars on a wall or a fridge, this is perfect.

I thought that Picasa was a little too much like Flickr, with the only difference being that one is done through Yahoo, and the other through Google. A lot of similarity in how photos are stored, and how they can be altered, and how you can upload them to a blog. It can be useful, but I think only in the case that you are not a Flick user, otherwise, you really only need one or the other.

Knol, to me, reminds me a lot of a wiki, but in more of a teaching type aspect because I thought the format lent itself more towards students using it for a demonstration presentation, or a teacher doing something similar. Still, I wonder if it has the same issue as wiki's in that it may not be the best resource, albeit still a good one, because of the fact that anyone can put the information on there. I like this aspect of Google applications, but I think I still have the same reservations I had with the wiki's

For iGoogle, I like that you can just compile all of the information you find pertinent to yourself, and put it in one place. It' s very resourceful, and something that is a huge timesaver, which is one of the best thing that you can say about something when it still gies you the same results. It's almost Google's version of the RSS feed, but the big difference is that it proides you with all of the information through Google that you need, which is much more a resource now that I know about all of these other Google applications. This was my favorite of the applications we looked at, and one that can really help me in the future, both in organization, and as a time saver.

Wiki's

I found the wiki concept to be extremely cool. It seems like it can be very useful for gathering a ton of information on a topic in a quick fashion. At the same time, there could possibly be repetitive information on the wiki, and you run the risk of overflowing the reader with too much, making it harder to understand, when the whole idea of a wiki is to make this information easier for people to find and use. So what fascinates me is how it can be such a great tool to use, and yet have so many pitfalls.

I think this is also what leads teachers to not like Wikipedia as a resource, because there is no sure way of verifying some of the information on the site. Unless there is a direct link to another source, any of the information put on the site could be completely fabricated, and it happens all the time because, again, the term wiki refers to the fact that anyone is able to add content to the topic.

So while the idea of collaboration and pooling the information that people have at their disposal seems great, I feel like I can't blame the teachers for taking the stance they have, on either side of the fence. Personally, I think if you can directly link to another source with the information put on a wiki, then just use that as your source. But if there isn't a direct link, I can't say that I trust the information. It's almost like rumors, because once the information is out there, it's hard to make it go away, een if it's wrong, unless you can directly prove otherwise, or show that there is indisputable evidence that the information is true, not just circumstancial evidence.