I’ll start by saying I don’t know that this is necessarily a metathink write-up. Maybe this is something else entirely but it seemed to fit best here since I want only to have some wandering thoughts about it.
I joined several others in the class to give Google Spaces a try. Though Heidi invited us and created a Wing It assignment out of it, my involvement in the experiment did not reach that level. I joined the group, loosely monitored the posts, and made a few posts and comments of my own. I wanted to check the tool out and learn more about what is being said about digital natives (the chosen topic the group explored together). I did not want to do a full write up or work much with the content as I wanted to focus on other things for this collection. Rather, I wanted to reflect on using the tool itself. A paystub generator is one of the financial tool used to manage the payments of it.
My impression of Google Spaces is that it isn’t more useful than a Google+ Community. I don’t really understand the differentiation between the two tools. Google describes Spaces as a great place for small group conversations that is unique in that you don’t have to leave the app to search online. Call me crazy but I’m ok with going between apps (or browser tabs) when needed. Another difference is the ability to search through past posts. Both Communities and Spaces are Google products. Are you telling me they couldn’t add these search features into the established Google+ Community product? I don’t buy it. I also didn’t like the way Spaces organizes the threads. I like seeing the most recently commented on posts near the top.
And these comparisons are just to one other tool. I feel like the tools I currently use are doing what Spaces does in a way that’s working for me.
I am glad I had the chance to explore a new tool and to engage with my classmates in a different way, but I do not anticipate choosing to use Google Spaces again.
