Thing # 13 Web Based Applications

This morning I explored Zoho Writer.  I was very excited that that this site offers a free word processor (Microsoft Office is expensive!).  I also found it ingenious that the tool allows you both share a project without having to email it and to work collaboratively on it online.  I played around on Zoho and created a sample document and then tried to upload it to my blog.  This is where I ran into problems.  I clicked on "Share" - "Post to Blog" and then typed in my username and password and hit "Get my blogs."  Zoho told me that I "need to be in https mode to use this feature." I have no idea what that means, so I searched around the site to find an answer.  I went under "Help" - "FAQ" - "How do I post a Blog from Zoho Writer?"  This did not give me an answer to my "https problem" but rather told me how to post to my blog once my account had been smoothly pulled up.  Oh well, I am sure that upon deeper investigation I could tackle this problem.  But for now, I have already invested my $100+ into the Microsoft Office Suite and will continue to use it (without having to put very much time and energy into learning a new system).  
Next I explored Google Docs and jumped at the chance to explore their drawing tool.

This is a drawing that I created on top of an uploaded photo that I had on my computer of cows at my aunt's farm.  This would be suitable for younger students who are learning addition.  My drawing can be found at https://docs.google.com/drawings/pub?id=1nMaL5pXdUWPV6FTn3ZOHyL4RHT8c3vsCapqHVFvEeHg&w=960&h=720
As far as other applications offered on Google Docs (word processor, spreadsheets, and presentations), they are pretty similar to those on Zoho.  These tools would be great for students who are working together on a project outside of class time.  They could email projects back and forth with their additions/edits without having to physically meet up and view the same computer screen.  I could definitely see my students playing around with a collaborative drawing or creating a slide based presentation together.