For this challenge, I chose a brand-new lesson plan and updated it, but I used Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word in order to see the differences in working with different word processors and compare the two experiences.
It was certainly different working to create a lesson plan in Google Docs than it was using MS Word, like I was used to. The most difficult thing for me was working on formatting, because I was so used to the freedom offered in Word to quickly and easily format an entire document or just specific aspects of a document. With Google Docs, I had to format individual parts of the table I created one at a time, which was much more tedious than Word, which had options to change the layout of an entire table at once to create, for example, variations in shading for certain cells. It was also tough to move around images so that they wouldn't distort the text; Word offers more flexibility on that front as well. However, I liked that Google Docs did for the most match up formatting with Word so I ended up with similar-looking lesson plans, formatting-wise.
Another main difference between the two is accessibility. The Google Doc was great to work on because I was able to access it no matter what computer I was on, and if I was working on this project with someone else they would be able to access it as well and work on the lesson plan without us having to email it back and forth over and over again for each little change. There would also be no compatibility issues with previous versions or problems with sharing a Word document among different programs. However, when I went certain places I had no Wi-Fi and that made it impossible to work on because I was unable to access my Drive without internet. Word, by contrast, is always accessible on a computer that has it installed.
See my updated lesson plan here.
Image credit
It was certainly different working to create a lesson plan in Google Docs than it was using MS Word, like I was used to. The most difficult thing for me was working on formatting, because I was so used to the freedom offered in Word to quickly and easily format an entire document or just specific aspects of a document. With Google Docs, I had to format individual parts of the table I created one at a time, which was much more tedious than Word, which had options to change the layout of an entire table at once to create, for example, variations in shading for certain cells. It was also tough to move around images so that they wouldn't distort the text; Word offers more flexibility on that front as well. However, I liked that Google Docs did for the most match up formatting with Word so I ended up with similar-looking lesson plans, formatting-wise.
Another main difference between the two is accessibility. The Google Doc was great to work on because I was able to access it no matter what computer I was on, and if I was working on this project with someone else they would be able to access it as well and work on the lesson plan without us having to email it back and forth over and over again for each little change. There would also be no compatibility issues with previous versions or problems with sharing a Word document among different programs. However, when I went certain places I had no Wi-Fi and that made it impossible to work on because I was unable to access my Drive without internet. Word, by contrast, is always accessible on a computer that has it installed.
See my updated lesson plan here.
Image credit