T21-Implementation 5

T21 – Week 5 Implementation Assignment:  Google Docs
Group 1:  Joni, Zaida, Betty, Peter
Benefits of Google Docs		Barriers/Solutions	Suggestions for Google Doc activities
Because the document can be accessed from any computer with internet access, there is no danger of forgetting the assignment at home or of only one person having access at a time.   Reduces the volume of paper teachers have to grade which in turn saves time and money. Teachers keep track of the student's participation in the project or assigment.  If a group member is sick or have to travel for whatever reason, he or she can continue working on the assigment as long as there is Internet access. Google Docs keeps track of every revision or addition made to the document. One can always go back and and reuse those changes if needed. Enables the user to produce better Quality documents overall. My 7-8th grade students are now using GoogleDocs for their Social Studies Class.  Mr. Carter has so much material that needs to be covered that he has put them in teams to work on the chapters.  I heard four boys talking about their plan right after dismissal today.  "Stanley, you take pages 240-254.  Leo will take 255-268.  Daniel, you make a chart for the stuff on this page."  Etc., Etc.  One of them said he would set up the GoogleDoc page to get them started.  SO — benefits?  The kids have new incentive to jump in and work on homework at home! Students are able to see what the team members have accomplished.  This helps them feel reassured that everyone is doing their part.  It also works in some measure as a springboard to help them generate new ideas.  They don't want to appear unintelligent or uninformed to their friends. How about a debate a controversal topic? There could be a moderator and several people discussion their point of view. Make power point present-ations and spreadsheets directly and save in Google Docs and download to computer if needed.		Risk of one person changing infor-mation that others did not want changed.   Solution: Teacher would need to intentionally teach GoogleDocs etiquette. (Check this out: File menu > See revision history)   Some students may not have internet access at home (low income students for example). Solution: If the assignment required is a homework, the school will need to provide library hours  or computer lab access,after school or during lunch-time  study period. Some students may contribute more than others: Solutions: assign each student a specific task If the school's internet is down, students would not be able to work on their assignment.  Solution: Go on to something else and extend the deadline!  (working from a backup would assume you saved a backup after every change--probably not going to happen--and it kind of defeats the purpose of having only one working copy.  And if the computers are down altogether, you'd have to go on to something else anyway!) Some parents are  uncomfortable with their children having access to the internet at home.  It's possible that parental restrictions would keep a student from being able to carry their share of the work load. Students who are high achievers often take strong ownership of their work.  If it is a collaboration, I can anticipate some problems as to who "wins" the debate over content.  (I actually have students like that in my class right now.)  Of course, learning to work well with others is a hidden agenda in the assignment, so the teacher will need to anticipate these issues and handle them with "Solomon's Wisdom."	Glossary of terms:  Have students collaborate to create a class glossary of vocabulary or subject-specific terms that can be used as a reference by everyone.    Students may work on different aspects of a  topic, say for example, stem cell research. Each student enter their findings to create a final document. Essay writing:  Have students write their first draft of an assigned essay using GoogleDocs and then invite a couple of friends/classmates to give them feedback . . . a back-and-forth process until the final draft is prepared.  The final draft could then be shared with the whole class to be peer-evaluated. Creative Writing:  One assignment that my 6th grade class enjoyed last year was the "Progressive Poetry."  I started a line of poetry on the board, then, in teams, the students wrote the next line.  Then, they rotated their poem to the next team, and the next, etc.  We set a timer, so the teams had to be quick thinkers.  I wonder if you could use GoogleDocs to write a "Progressive Story"?  Divide into teams, and let them write the whole story online.  They would need to follow guidelines, like deciding on character, plot, setting, point of view, etc. Interviews:  If you set up interview questions using GoogleDocs, why couldn't you send it to someone you wanted to interview?  In fact, it could be used for multiple interviews.  Each interviewee would have a column for their answers.  In essence, it would create a transcript of the interview. Peer Editing:  Students could share their writing with another person for a peer review.  They could go back and forth with their edits until the author was satisfied with the outcome.