Journal Reflection 3: Google Docs in the Classroom

So I must firstly say I appreciated the link posted on our class Google doc. Reading the Tara Seale's guest post on the Official Google Docs blog was very illuminating in terms of getting a "visual" on what using Google docs in a classroom would look like. The comment thread also linked me up to another interesting blog, Educational Technology and Life, which featured author Dr. Mark Wagner's post on COPPA or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (1998) and CIPA, the Children's Internet Protection Act (in progress). Both acts stipulate the rule and regulations of children's internet use--COPPA technically relating to schools and student usage. I found this insight into the laws that pertain to technology use in education to be a reminder that as teachers we must be careful monitors of the content our students access in our classroom.


That said, I found that my experience with Google docs to be enjoyable and familiar. In terms of their use in the classroom, I can see it's potential. Tara Seale's posted examples from her classes show that Google docs is great for sharing work as well as practicing the writing process--both individually and collaboratively (though by design it's all collaborative!).


I see some comparison with Google docs and Wikispaces in terms of what Lundin describes as “transparency (439)." Yet in terms of teacher monitoring, Wikispaces are immense fields of information. Each History page yields pages of reading material. Because of Google docs' "real time" editability the single draft is usually clearer and easier to scan. It's simplicity give me the opportunity to go paperless in the classroom while Wikispaces seems like more bulk. Maybe that sounds lazy. I do think Wikispaces are ideal platforms for student creativity. An online classroom Zine that posts photography, short stories, essay, poetry, etcetera, would be great fun and a great opportunity for collaboration. It may be a challenge for all students to access a Google account, however, and this prediction may make me consider some of the other sites with an educational agenda or background.