Google Docs in an Out-of-Class Collaborative Writing Activity

International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning. Web site: http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe

Y

17

Assignments; Word Processing; Collaborative Writing; Undergraduate Students; Instructional Effectiveness; College Faculty; Higher Education; Psychology; Technology Uses in Education; Comparative Analysis; Writing Instruction; Questionnaires; Scoring Rubrics; Evaluation; Student Attitudes

1812-9129

Google Docs, an online word processing application, is a promising tool for collaborative learning. However, many college instructors and students lack knowledge to effectively use Google Docs to enhance teaching and learning. Goals of this study include (1) assessing the effectiveness of using Google Docs in an out-of-class collaborative writing activity through measuring the assignment's influence on students' learning experiences, (2) teaching students to work collaboratively, and (3) teaching students to successfully communicate their understanding and application of concepts through writing. Undergraduate students (N = 35) were randomly assigned to small groups to complete two out-of-class assignments. We compared students' collaborative performance and learning across two assignments, one with Google Docs and one without. We found (1) most students were unfamiliar with Google Docs prior to the study, (2) Google Docs changed the means of communication used in collaborative writing, (3) 93% of students considered Google Docs a useful tool for group work, (4) using Google Docs had no effect on students' paper grades, and (5) half of the students reported they would like to use Google Docs in the future. Our results suggest that Google Docs was a useful tool for collaborative writing and influenced student learning. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

As Provided

35

2013

EJ1000688