On Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 4:54 AM, Tony <physixdude@comcast.net> wrote:
Do any of you use GoogleDocs in with your students. If so How do you use
it?
(1) I use the Forms feature of the spreadsheet for Reading Quizzes that
students complete before class. I've also used them for surveys of student
demographics and background. I usually just create a link on the course
web-page to the web form that is generated. It's also possible to directly
mail a link to an address list. I don't worry much about security as my
Reading Quizzes are low-stakes and "graded" on participation/completion; I
don't know how to adjust for security concerns. You don't need a google
account, just a web browser to access the form.
Since starting Reading Quizzes, I've done them for nearly every class I
teach - I find them invaluable in gauging student understanding and
preparing lectures and workshops tailored for that particular group of
students. I'm basically using a variant of Just-In-Time-Teaching.
I used to have a more sophisticated way to do this, using a custom made
program created by a colleague. Since I switched institutions, I can't use
it on my new network. I've also used course management software like
Blackboard and Moodle as well.
(2) I've used Google Spreadsheet for easy data entry when students are
collecting data intended for wide class use. So generally for statistics
activities, where each group performs a measurement on a small sample, and
we want to collect aggregate data. I create a base sheet and make either
the spreadsheet or form available via a link. The data can then be analyzed
either in the google spreadsheet program or downloaded elsewhere.
(3) I haven't yet but plan to use the documents feature for collaborative
writing projects such as lab reports, journal-style articles, peer review,
etc.
sincerely,
Krishna
Krishna Chowdary
Faculty, Math & Physics
The Evergreen State College
Olympia WA 98505