My Project #2 evaluated Collaborative Writing (CW) as an educational tool. The purpose of the project was to
research two focal digital tools, and early on, I knew I wanted one tool to be
Google Docs. My project consists
of theoretical background literature on CW and its definitions. As a result of refining CW’s definition
and perusing existing CW tools, I chose “Draft” as the second digital tool
because like Google Docs, its emphasis is on heavy writing on a document
interface (as opposed to examining a tool like Twitter which isn’t text-heavy). Draft cannot enable multiple users to
edit in real time but unlike Google Docs, Draft does enable version control, or
in other words, “a master document.”
Users can accept or reject partial changes created by other
collaborators.
Because I am still confounded by the lack of technological access in urban school settings (where students do not necessarily have access to their own laptop or computer), I was more interested in CW as a means for teachers or more learned peers to provide feedback on student writing, than CW as a means for students to write simultaneously, or to take turns to contribute to achieve a collaborative, high-quality writing product. In this sense, features of Draft make it more suitable for the former purpose and Google Docs is more designed for the latter purpose.
In conclusion, I’ve rarely seen high school students use Google Docs (or any CW digital tool) for CW purposes. Google Docs, however, is very efficient for undergraduate and graduate settings, and I would imagine businesses. My project highlighted a teacher using Google Docs effectively in a high school classroom, but I think it was because those particular students had access to individual Mac laptops. As a process of proposing design alterations to Google Docs for my project, I realized that adapting CW digital tools to smart phone apps might be more suitable for secondary educational settings. Students have both more access and facility with smart phones. I definitely think CW is useful for secondary schools, particularly in English classes, but it only seems plausible to implement such type of assignments on structured lab days, and not so much mini-lessons on a day-to-day basis.
Because I am still confounded by the lack of technological access in urban school settings (where students do not necessarily have access to their own laptop or computer), I was more interested in CW as a means for teachers or more learned peers to provide feedback on student writing, than CW as a means for students to write simultaneously, or to take turns to contribute to achieve a collaborative, high-quality writing product. In this sense, features of Draft make it more suitable for the former purpose and Google Docs is more designed for the latter purpose.
In conclusion, I’ve rarely seen high school students use Google Docs (or any CW digital tool) for CW purposes. Google Docs, however, is very efficient for undergraduate and graduate settings, and I would imagine businesses. My project highlighted a teacher using Google Docs effectively in a high school classroom, but I think it was because those particular students had access to individual Mac laptops. As a process of proposing design alterations to Google Docs for my project, I realized that adapting CW digital tools to smart phone apps might be more suitable for secondary educational settings. Students have both more access and facility with smart phones. I definitely think CW is useful for secondary schools, particularly in English classes, but it only seems plausible to implement such type of assignments on structured lab days, and not so much mini-lessons on a day-to-day basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment