Google Docs-Picasa, iGoogle, Knol, and Calender

Google is not far from taking over the world. With an endless amount of things you can do on their streamlined homepage (which is incredibly deceiving-with all the extras they offer), iGoogle, Picasa, Knol, and Calender are more examples of why Google has become such a successful search engine and business. Each of these programs offer interesting perspectives on pretty simple ideas. The application that I would use most is probably iGoogle. The ability to bring all the information you would be looking for anyway on the internet right to your homepage is quite useful and similar to an RSS feed. Two applications that I know I wouldn't use are both Picasa (being that I never take pictures) and the Calender (my appointment list in in my noggin'). Finally, Knol is a somewhat interesting take on a pseudo-encyclopedia. I think that Knol could be an interesting application used in the classroom for students to work on their writing skills, become familiar with technology, and express their knowledge in a topic their passionate or interested in.
Jon

Wikis

The concept of wikis are incredible. The ability to constantly update, edit, and add information on literally any topic is awesome and which is more often than not quite accurate. I find the whole process of wikis pretty interesting. Although many who contribute aren't "experts," the users usually have a good idea of what they're talking about. This is the beauty of the application, people from all types of backgrounds are usually pretty knowledgeable in some area. Whether that be molecular biology or a certain baseball team, there is a wealth of knowledge right at your fingertips.
This steps right into my next argument. Although the quality of information cannot be guaranteed on a wiki, with the policing of others who use the site, the information is usually reliable. At the same time, while teachers or instructors argue about the lack of quality of information, a number of textbooks used in the classroom have errors in them as well. Now although I am not arguing for all term papers to have Wikipedia as their main source, site similar to Wikipedia serve a great function in that they offer a plethora of knowledge that is quite easy to obtain.