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I think that google docs could be a really exciting piece of technology to use in my future classroom. It would be an excellent way to work on the writing process. For example, students in the classroom could post their prewriting, and then their first draft of their papers or stories that they are writing. Then other students could view these documents and add their own comments about what they think would make their peer's writing better. This would mean that students could be working on these projects at any point during the day, even outside of the classroom, because they would always have access to their peer's work.
I love the idea of students being able to collaborate on a piece of writing. In this way, through the use of google docs, two students could be writing a story together. For instance, they could each write alternate endings to a story, and, on the document itself, they could have a conversation about which ending they wanted to use and why.
This would also be a great tool for teamwork because the teacher can see who is posting what material and when. This can help the teacher to monitor that every student is pulling their own weight. However, I do think that it is important for teachers to be constantly monitoring student's work while they are using google docs. Because students can post whatever they want to the internet using this feature, it would be easy for them to tear down another student's work, and that is not a way that this technology should be used in the classroom.
Also, before teachers allow students to collaborate through the use of Google Docs in the classroom, they might want to have a conversation with their students about how to give good feedback and constructive criticism. It is always easier to tear someone down if you don't have to look at them face to face. Instead, you just have to type something on to the web. That is the one precaution that I would want to take when using google docs.
You know Jenna, I didn't even think about how easy it would be for students to "tear down" another students work on Google Docs. I don't think it is required to make a comment and/or change to a document and leave your name attached to that revision. Because it is all completed online, the personal face-to-face conventions are not required and students could be really harsh on someones work. You are exactly right that teachers need to really monitor the projects that students are working on in Google Docs for this reason. Thanks for bringing up a good point!
ReplyDeleteI think having the teacher be able to oversee what the students are working on and see who is working on the project is a really neat idea. This way the teacher can see who is really pulling all the weight of a group project or see if they are splitting up the work evenly.
ReplyDeleteI like that idea too because that is probably one of the hardest parts of group projects and one of the most difficult things for teachers to evaluate. Unless the students are telling the teacher that someone isn't pulling their weight, there is not a good way for teachers to evaluate the participation of all group members on the traditional group projects. Using Google Docs could eliminate some of these problems.
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