using google docs as an e-writing collaborative tool

Azmi Abdul LatiffZainal Abidin Sayadi

Faculty of Science, Arts and HeritageUTHM Johor

Malaysia

Using as an e-Writing Collaborative Tool

Azmi Abdul LatiffZainal Abidin Sayadi

USING GOOGLE DOC AS AN e-WRITING COLLABORATIVE TOOLUSING GOOGLE DOCS AS AN e-WRITING COLLABORATIVE TOOL

Education-main benefactor of Internet technology

Explosion of Internet technology

Internet is a great tool for language learning

Limitless potential as a language learning tool-only limited by imagination and creativity of teachers.

Evolution of Web technology

What is Google Docs?

- online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor

- enables users to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time.

- enables creation of new documents from scratch or upload existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

- no software to download, and all your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer.

Research Objectives

Students responses were elicited to get:

- their experience in using Google Docs

- the role of Google Docs in helping them to write the proposal and final report

- how the collaborative writing help them to improve their English writing skill

94 engineering undergraduates at UTHMex diploma from polytechnics

Technical Writing- group research- prepared proposal and final

report

Students were asked to fill up an online survey on their profile

Groupings based on language proficiency (SPM English/MUET)

Students were exposed to Google Docs at the beginning of semester.

Group research started in 6th week

Questionnaire and interview for data collection

Frequency count, percentage and qualitative description

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Despite the students’ familiarity with Web 2.0 applications such as

Facebook (100%), Blog (73%) and Youtube (60% of respondents accessed at least 5 times per week

majority of them were first time users of Google Doc.

They did use

Google Search (100%) as a search engine to look for websites (85% used Google as only search engine), images (Google Image) (96%), Google Maps (70%) and Google Chat (97%)

but less than 5% explore some other Google applications including Google Doc .

They agreed that two Google applications namely Google Docs (including Documents, Spreadsheet and Form) and Chat helped them to collaborate in their group research.

ReasonsDifferent sections/classes in other subjectsLived at different hostels and atdifferent locations,

Google Chat allowed them to conduct online synchronous discussion.

Chatting topicsDiscuss assignment (64%), Latest updates on study matters (85%) and personal matters (93%) (Gossiping, dissatisfactions, interestsnot related to academic)

The discussions/chat were conducted in a mixture of English and their mother tongue (majority in Malay and English).

The students agreed that Google Doc allowed them to

Save resources online found when doing literature review. The reading materials were stored online

Save list of references that they collaboratively updated

Share files with their group members.

Features of Google Doc that the students loved the most are:

Auto-updated nature of it. They did not have to remind their group members of the updates that they have done to their work or send emails to send documents with the latest amendment.

Online storage of files

Files sharing

Another feature that they loved is the real-time editing that they can do collaboratively with other group members. They could see their mistakes in terms of grammar, sentence constructions, spelling and factual information.

Google Form allowed them to create online questionnaire.

Distributed their online questionnaires through email and Facebook.

HOW GOOGLE DOCS HELPED THEM TO IMRPOVE THEIR

LANGUAGE

Placing students with better English language proficiency and made them the group editors also helped the groups to produce better research proposal and the final report.

In correcting the writing piece, the students used features such as Google Chat and Comments

The group editors, besides contributing their ideas, were also found correcting errors in spelling, sentence construction and vocabularies.

The group members strongly agreed that the corrections made by their editors helped them to realize their mistakes.

The students however agreed that knowing that their idea or writing was checked by their peers made them uncomfortable as they preferred to be corrected by the lecturers.

The final products were not totally error free but the online editing certainly helped to reduce the errors.

Teacher’s Role in Google Doc

Online comments on students’ work.

Check active writers

Check ‘passengers’ in group through ‘See revision history’

DRAWBACKS

Unavailability of Offline Google Docs beginning 3rd May 2010

As Google Doc is a Web-based application, connection to the Internet is very crucial to ensure it is functioning.

One major drawback of using this application is the instability of WiFi connectivity in the campus.

The students complained that there were times they could not access to their stored documents due to poor Internet connectivity at their hostel.

THANK YOU

TERIMA KASIH