We use Google Docs a lot in this class, but we rarely discuss its possible applications. In this blog post, I give some ways in which I would use this tool in an undergraduate literature class.
1. Creative/Cathartic Exercise
A good example of this is from Dr. Sherwood’s Postmodern Lit class, where everyone collaborated on a creative response to the text in a short amount of time. Being a postmodern class, the result was very weird (here’s the link). I think this kind of exercise is a good way to begin class, and to get everyone’s creativity flowing. I have had professors in the past do this in non-digital ways. For instance, one professor asked us to sum up the reading in a single word, then go around the room and have everyone share their word. The benefit of using a Google Doc is that it gives us a product that we can save and refer to later.
2. Class Discussion
Answering questions or writing prompts collaboratively is another use for Google Docs. As we have seen in this class, students can all type simultaneously, which may be more productive than waiting for your turn to speak, or maybe not getting a chance to speak at all. I also think that the quieter students may have much more to say in this format than in oral discussions. As mentioned before, we would also have a convenient record of our discussion.
3. Group Projects
Google Docs is a great tool for group work. In another class, I am preparing for a group presentation, so I created a Google Doc to share ideas and comments without having to meet in person (here is what that looks like). Next, we will pare them down into bullet points to display during the presentation, and embed links to videos and other material.
This is a versatile tool. As we have seen in this class, it can even be used for simple functions, like signing up for presentations. Familiarizing students with Google docs will benefit them in future classes, as well. No one in my group of graduate students, for example, had used this tool before. In a past class, a student wanted to use Google Docs for group work, but we rejected the idea, because we thought that we would all have to have a Google account to use it. Getting students to use the tool early on will open up many possibilities for future applications in their own particular disciplines.
Hi Ben,
This first part of the comment doesn’t necessarily have to do with your post, but wasn’t sure of the best way to share my thoughts. I think I get where you’re coming from with what you were positing in class today. And, I’m pretty sure I agree with you (if I am correct in what you were saying). I’m really not one to get offended by what I read–and it’s not because I’m dispassionate, but because being critically tangible of what’s out there and how others set up their arguments and methodologies is what being a humanist is all about. Asking: Is the argument rational? Is it empirical? vs. Do I agree with it? are two completely different sides to reading something. And, I think that what you were saying in class today–can’t you say that anything has its roots in some sort of bias or is influenced by some patriarchal/heterosexual/(insert construct here)? is kind of undeniable. Everything we do, from the clothes that we choose to wear (whatever Derridean threads signify us openly and between vexed lines) to the words we choose to represent the language that also signifies other biases–it’s nothing new. Your calming moderation in the conversation today was my reminder that it’s inevitable to recognize these things. (If that is, in fact, what you were going for. I hope so, because I liked it.)
Secondly, I loved your cathartic use of Google docs in #1. I checked out your link. How fun. (I miss PoMo! If we could all learn “how not to be nobody…” ) But! You made such an interesting point–I’m a huge fan and practitioner of the in-class impromptu exercises like the one you mentioned about going around the room with one word summaries, but you’re right–there is no record of this classroom event. How fascinating it would be to be able to have a collection of these to refer back to for summative projects or when reflecting on lesson plans and re-planning for the next semester. I love how you pose this tool as a solution to record that classroom data and think I want to try it sometime. (Confession: I have never used Google docs before. I may do that after I hit “post.”)
Michaela
Thanks,
It’s good to know there are a few like-minded people in class. I felt a little outnumbered (my calm demeanor was just a facade).
🙂
Ben
I think it was a productive discussion in the end, even if we don’t all agree where we ended up.