Google Docs

Igoogle could help students by personalizing their own web page. Students are allowed to stream news links, have local weather shown whenever they wish to view, even put games or videos on their home page.

With Picasa you are able to edit or enhance photos, but it does not go into detail like Adobe or other photography softwares. I find that it would be easy to use in the classroom, and not very complex for students to learn and use. It would be helpful in making photos used on display boards look more appealing to the eye.

Knol is much like wikipedia, so it is beneficial to locate information quickly but students also have to remember these statements on Knol are not revised or reviewed before posted online so the information is not 100% reliable.

All these tools are free and user friendly. So when debating which programs to use in the classroom i think many teachers over look this option. Especially with todays economy i think it would be wise to promote the use of these softwares to different school districts.