I know it might seem like I’m the kind of person who would sit in front of a glowing computer screen all summer to get my tan, but I’m not. I went to various summer camps, outside. For some of these summer camps I was asked to write-up a few of my lesson plans to help create content for the camp and for a few of those, I had to collaborate with other volunteers. I found that it was difficult to email documents back and forth to the other volunteers. I knew it’d be easier to sit down and work at a table and work together but when you live in Ukraine, it’s just not that easy.

Then I found a solution. I found that I can upload documents to Google Docs (requires a Google account) and then I could share them with anyone for them to edit (does not need a Google account). Changes will be tracked by the editor and more than one person can work on it at a time. I never had to worry about sending emails back and forth to my collaborators and they’d always be working with the most recent document. It was win-win for me.

Here’s how you can collaborate with your fellow PCVs to plan for next year’s camps:

First, open Google Docs (http://docs.google.com) and either create a new document or upload one from your hard drive. The upload button is in the top left corner. Next, open the newly created or uploaded document and add content as necessary. To share, click the button in the top right corner labeled “Share”. You will first be asked to add email addresses of the people you want to share it with. Remember, these do not need to be Gmail accounts. A button will pop up to the right of the email addresses asking you what sort of permissions you wish them to have. There are two options and they are both straightforward. “Can edit” means that the email addresses entered will have access and can make changes. “Can view” means that the email addresses entered will have access only to view. I recommend you leave the check box “Notify people via email” checked so those who do not log into Google Docs often or don’t have a Google account will know you are sharing the document with them. All you need to do then is press “Save and Share”. If you want to change someone’s access or remove it altogether after you share it with them, just click the “Share” button again and the list of email addresses and their permissions.

So, I hope that helps you plan out lessons and other things in Peace Corps. If you wish to create a document of things you’d like to hear about in Tech Tips to test the process and share it with me.