English Teachers: Edit During Class Using Google Docs
Posted: May 6th, 2012 | Author: Michael Goldstein | | 5 Comments »
I caught up with Ross Trudeau, an MTR alum, over dinner last week. He teaches English at KIPP King in the SF Bay Area. I asked him to write a guest post on how he deals with research papers, and in particular, how he uses Google Docs as a teacher as part of that process.
Ross writes:
The set-up. We’re doing a 7-10 page research paper that involves a ton of clicking around the internet. My seniors, bless them, are major procrastinators. Vanishingly few of them put in any real work on essays until right before the due date. To try to generate some momentum, this week I gave them 3 consecutive days of dedicated independent work time during class.
Unfortunately, as a teacher, me circulating and doing over-the-shoulder pointing and ‘here-let-me-see-the-mouse’ is not efficient.
Reboot. Today all students were instructed to create and share with me a Google doc. It included their outline and any essay writing they’ve done. When they sat, each student was working within the document. I had 20 tabs open on my screen, so I could click between their essays.
A Google doc allows you to insert comments (like Word), and chat with the author in a pop-out window (like Gchat), but puts the whole process in the cloud in real time.
The end result was me giving specific feedback and dialoguing with 20 kids in a totally silent and engaged classroom.
At the end of the period I asked for some student feedback. 85% positive, 10% neutral, 5% negative. Almost all the neutral feedback was partially shame at knowing that I’d be aware of their lack of progress.
Kids wrote:
1. I like the google doc. I think it is a lot more accessible to get edits and feedback on our work than having you walk around to students tables looking over their shoulders. I just hate writing on the actual good doc itself…but it will have to do.
Good point here. Google docs has limited word processing functionality (no endnotes, for example). But it has enough features that students can work offline, then copy-paste to the doc when they get to class.2. I really like the Google doc idea, it not only gives me a sense of urgency I didn’t have before, but really gives me reason to draft to the top of my abilities. Most importantly, I can ask questions without the need of disrupting others. Thanks for this!
The urgency was something I hadn’t really considered. Unintended consequence for the win. With the potential of your work being observed and appraised at any moment, the dreaded “first draft” becomes highly accountable.3. This google doc technique is cool. I like the instant feedback.
4. I really like this way of working. It lets me talk to you more easily without having to beckon from across the room or while you’re busy with another student. Plus, considering that we’re all rigorously working, it keeps things rather time-efficient.
Another unintended consequence. Shy students no longer have to raise their hands or publically speak to ask a question. They just type it in the chat bar and I respond when I click back to their doc.…Except when the internet is slow…
Yeah, that. Also, this whole setup requires you to have 20+ serviceable and internet-enabled machines. If you don’t have access, it’s still good to be able to check up on and offer feedback on work that students are doing at home, but it loses the cool/urgent factor of knowing that both author and editor are simultaneously online and working.
I’m basically sold. Every essay I assign from now on will be authored on Google docs (to the extent that kids have internet access at home) or at least worked on in class for 1-2 days before it’s due (to the extent that I can get laptop access). I get to track progress, kids get a little eAngel on their shoulder while they work, and I can dialogue with the loquacious and the reticent alike.
Our 7th grade ELA teachers are trying to do this now too. One management problem arose – kids gchating with each other in lab instead of writing and not getting anything done.
If I were to only judge by the caliber of the comments, those kids are far above their peers in writing ability. Or were they edited for meaning?!
In short bursts with deadlines as seems to be described above, I can see it working very well. As the first commenter notes, used on a regular basis, this is likely to degenerate into just a play on the internet with the document there in case your teacher checks in on you.
I think this is a great idea! It actually reminds me of going to the ‘language lab’ when I was a high school student myself studying Spanish. We would sit at individual carrels with headphones on, listen to a recording and have to engage in particular speaking exercises, Our Spanish teacher could listen in on any of our sessions…
Katie Rieser of Cambridge Community Charter writes:
Seems like Ross is doing some hip stuff. I’d echo many of his comments about the facility (and drawbacks) of google documents. Here are some of the things that I do:
· When students work in Google Documents, I use the chat feature some, but am more likely to engage kids with the ‘comments’ feature. I typically post comments this way, which keeps me out of their actual document. Kids can respond to comments quickly this way also. The ‘comments’ feature also allows you to save comments for later, so that you can go back and understand quickly what a student has accomplished. I also ask students to comment on their own work at least once per class, so that I have a quick data point about what they’re thinking and where they are in the process.
· After students finish writing something on a google document, I typically ask them to paste it into a blog entry using Google sites. This added feature helps kids (and me) to stay organized with respect to the work they’ve been doing all year. It also allows all students to view other students’ work at any time. By going into their ‘blog site’ they can see everything they’ve written for the year, polished, and published to their classmates. It adds an additional element to the ‘docs’ system – a fitting alternative to a printed final copy.
· I do silent classes using google documents, but I am more likely to use these types of classes when kids prepare for tests or have discussions. It works like this: I prepare a single google document with instructions for kids and share it with everyone. I also prepare ‘discussion’ questions at different levels using the ‘comments’ feature of the program. Kids respond to each other (and my questions) throughout the class silently as we build a discussion. This helps me to differentiate the types of feedback I’m giving to kids, but also allows for students to engage with one another really simply. It serves as solid prep for tests around novels we’ve read, or conversations that involve synthesizing evidence (which requires wait time for kids).
My school subscribes to the ” one teacher on their feet is worth two in the seat” philosophy. This is a cool idea, but I would be written up for sitting at a desk. I also worry about the electronic communication after school hours. I think NYC DOE has a ‘suggested’ policy of it being a no-no.