Collaborating with Google Documents

Okay. So now I’m exploring Google Docs a bit more (I know I promised more about blogging but that will have to wait till next week).

I’ve found this presentation below. Basically part of a series created by Tom Barrett. Kick started by Tom the presentations also include contributions made by others, (you cant just dive in and edit a Google Doc – you have to be invited, so basically in this case interested parties email Tom with their suggestions which are then duly added to the presentation).

Anyway a brief look at some of my favourite suggestions (and tips) for use:

1 - Use Spreadsheets for a first collaboration session. If using Google docs for the first time get things started by first using the spreadsheet.

2 - Share pulse raw data. Following on from point 1 again use a single shared spreadsheet for the whole class and add the students’ names in the first few column. Then design an experiment which requires the students to add raw data (in this example it was pulse rates) simultaneously. The pooled data can then be explored, averaged, charted etc.

3 - I am Unique! Good for students at the start of a module. Ask the students to individually work on a single shared Document and finish a sentence, in my case “The most important concerns about using Blended Learning are…”.

4 - Collaborative Homework. Touched on in previous posts, ask students to work on a shared presentation / spreadsheet / document.

5 - Use the chat window. I suspect similar to the comments facility on Flickr and the wiki page discussion tabs this feature will be sadly overlooked. Clicking on the ‘view’ opens up a chat window allowing those who are viewing the presentation to exchange comments. The interesting aspect is that, as Tom points out, you can encourage the students to respond to verbal questions in the chat window DURING presentation. OR even better have questions prepared on the slides for them to respond to.

6 - Inline Video and Images in Chat. A great idea building from the previous. You can display videos in the chat window and play them during the presentation, e.g. YouTube. This is interesting as you could direct the students to research, find material (or anything they have pre created) and display and play the results right there.

Health warning - Worth knowing that Google Docs only have limits. 10 people can edit a Presentation at the same time, 50 people can edit a Spreadsheet simultaneously and 10 people can edit a Document at the same time.

Farewell to wikis and all that? Part 1

I mentioned in a recent post the joys of using Google documents for collaboration. There’s plenty out there illustrating their use and if get the time I’ll gather some up and post them here, (in the meantime check out Tom Barrett’s ‘100 Interesting Ways’ post – Web Link).

What strikes me about Google Docs is how you can get a group of people to work on a common document for which the data changes in real time. In other words the changes appear rapidly in front of you (it’s not real time really as there’s a 2 second or so delay). This got me thinking in relation to a wiki a assignment I gave out as part of my CPAD teaching. Part of the assignment requires the student to co-create an online presentation using the wiki itself. I might swap this element out for Google documents instead. Specifically I’m talking about the Google Presentation application which looks to all intents and purposes like PowerPoint. I can imagine the students working on a common presentation with the changes appearing rapidly in front them. The only issue is that they need to have a Google account to edit the presentation.

Another useful feature is the spreadsheet facility. As with the presentation you share a spreadsheet among students. Imagine the students plotting in data using their laptops to a common spreadsheet which in turn is centrally projected spreadsheet to the rest of the class.

Well don’t take my word for it have go (docs.google.com).