Using Google Docs in the Classroom

Contributed by Tammy Townsend

I attended a session on Google Docs at the Computers in Writing conference in Athens, Georgia. Rick Branscomb from Salem State conducted the workshop, and it was informative. He uses Google Docs for his composition classes, and he says he's well on his way to his goal of a completely paperless classroom. Rick says he only uses Blackboard for the gradebook feature. There are some great possibilities for the application in the classroom.

First the good news. The instructor can assign students to peer groups, and the peer groups can contribute editorial marks on the document. Each contributor has a different colored highlight, and the changes can be tracked and reversed. This is especially good for editors to comment on the content and the organization. Unfortunately, the addition of the text sometimes causes changes in the formatting. Rick Branscomb requires the students to edit the work and remove the comments for the final document. He only adds comments on the content and organization. At the end of the essay, he gives remarks and the grade.

Google Docs allows uploads from files. There are even spreadsheet and presentation applications. The student has the choice of uploading a file or typing it straight into Google Docs. The bad news is that there are compatibility issues with docx file formats. As long as people save in the rft or an older format, they can still upload a document. The other problem is that of organization of files. Unless the instructor is very specific with required file names, it is hard to organize student submissions. Students will need to single space (to get more text on the page), and double space between paragraphs.

On the whole, Google Docs has some wonderful implications. There are still the issues of student privacy and ownership of work. I enjoyed the workshop, and I learned more than I knew I needed to know. In fact, the class built a database of emails, interests, and opinions, which was great fun. I'll take that project home for an ice-breaker assignment on the first day of computer lab class. I even almost got a date for lunch. How much more fun could a geeky girl wannabe have?