Collaborative+Authorship

=Google Docs=

Create and Store Your Documents Online!
[|Google Docs] (and similar services like the [|Zoho application suite], [|Adobe Buzzword], [|WriteBoard], and [|others]) allow users to create, compose, and save word processing documents online.

Are Online Services Better Than Word?
It's not a question of "better or worse". Each option has its own strengths and weaknesses, and should be approached accordingly. Some of the key benefits of online office suites are:
 * documents are accessible and editable from any computer with Internet access
 * documents not locked into one proprietary format = greater access
 * collaboration - documents can be edited by multiple users and edited simultaneously (Google Docs even has a chat function for real-time discussion of the project at hand)
 * maintain an easily accessible archive/portfolio of all work (including prior drafts and assigned authorship)

When/Why Would I Use Google Docs over Word?

 * Collaborative document/slideshow/spreadsheet creation/editing
 * Intuitive forms/surveys - responses automatically populate to a Google Docs spreadsheet. [|Click here to take a sample survey!]
 * Archiving multiple drafts/versions electronically

=TypeWith.Me=

Guerrilla Collaboration
As with the Diigo/Delicious "question", some folks don't need all the features and firepower of Google Docs. If you just need a very basic space for people to collaborate on a document (without the need for creating accounts), [|TypeWith.Me] is a more bare-bones alternative to Google Docs.

TypeWith.Me allows for real-time collaboration, IM-style sidebar chat, and basic word processing function (bold, underline, italicize, strikethrough). Versions are archived, and can be "replayed" like a movie. Once you've decided your product is finalized, you can export it to a Word document, PDF, or other format for your records.

Best of all, TypeWith.Me is based on an open-source project called [|Etherpad] - if you or someone in your district has the know-how, you can create your own "private" version of TypeWith.Me for use with your students.

=URL Shorteners=

While these online office suites are useful, the URL ("web addresses") they generate can be ridiculously long and unruly. To make sharing easier, I use URL shortening services. They take long URLS like "**http://spreadsheets.google.com/HHGRFHDSE893W7839Y8E4WYHU8E4GUIERFGUI**" and turn them into much more manageable addresses, like "**http://tinyurl.com/damianslink**".

Try any of the following services to shorten your long URLs:
 * [|TinyURL]
 * [|Is.gd]
 * [|bit.ly]
 * [|MooURL]
 * [|goo.gl]