Comparison of Google Docs and Pages on the iPad by Dominic

Post by 6th Grade Digital Dragon Dominic:

Google Docs vs. Pages

At St. Clare we have two  main document apps, Pages and Google Docs. Since there are two apps you may not always know what app to use so here are some pros and cons of Pages and Google Docs.

Pages

Pros: Pages has more fonts. It also has options for spacing. It has templates which in my opinion are not very useful, but maybe they are for some people. You can also add graphs in Pages.

Cons: If you make a document on Pages you can't work on it on a computer. You also need a printer that works with iPads, which we have at St. Clare, but a lot of people don't have printers that work with iPads at home. Pages also does not work with Google Drive.

Google Docs

Pros: You can print a Google Doc on many platforms because of Google Drive which allows you to view, edit, or print on many platforms just my having a google account. While it does not have very many fonts, the fonts are good. There are separate buttons for undo and redo while in Pages you have to switch between redo and undo, which is not a big deal but maybe it is for some people. You can also send a doc through Drive.

Cons: In Google Docs there are no spacing options so if you want to space things you will have to hit enter/return a lot. There are not as many fonts in Docs. It does not have any graphs or picture you can add in. Sometimes Docs does not do things you want or acts weird.

Verdict

Which one you should use depends on your preferences, printer, or if you are required to use one.

Vocabtest.com by Ellen

Post by 6th grade Digital Dragon Ellen:

This is a site for grades 6-8 vocab.  We use it to practice words and earn bonus points.  

We learn about stress marks, definitions, and parts of speech. It has all the different lessons on it with all the 20 different words. When you finish a vocabulary test, you can email it to your teacher to get bonus points. When you visit vocabtest.com , you press on your vocab level, unit, and what test you want to take. Each test gives you your words.  There are multiple books to choose from as well.

Graphing Calculators by Clare

Post written by 8th grade Digital Dragon Clare:

Mrs. Wade's algebra class has recently used the website desmos.com and graphing calculators to graph equations. Both have graphing abilities, but the graphing calculator is more commonly used among students. Desmos is very straightforward, and to get the graphing function the user can simply click on the button labeled "Launch Calculator" and get a colored graph with many possibilities. On Desmos, the linear equation can be in any form. To use the graphing ability on a graphing calculator, you must input equations in a different screen and they must be in slope-intercept (y=) form. Graphing calculators can be more useful because they have regular calculator abilities as well as being able to make graphs. If I had to choose a single tool to use, I would choose the traditional graphing calculator, but Desmos is very accessible. It is free, and if you have your iPad and wifi, you can easily launch it and get an accurate graph where you can find the exact point with just the touch of a finger, or a click of the mouse if you are using a desktop computer. In conclusion, Desmos is the better tool if the goal is only to graph, but the graphing calculator is better all-around.