Fun with Google Docs (Part 2A)

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A Collaborative Editing Exercise Using Google Docs

Part One looked at how Goggle Docs compare to traditional word processors as utilities for creation and submission of student assignments. Part Two (this one) talks about the collaborative editing exercise I did with my class (2A), as well as the in-class “tutorial” that turned out to be a lot of fun (2B). Part Three goes into using Google Docs as a tool for writing co-authored papers.

I am teaching the “English” part of a communications course for first year engineers. I decided that one of the objectives in this course would be to help students become familiar with some of the 21st-century skills they will need to complete their degrees and after they graduate (see: Learning for the 21st Century, Life and Career Skills, Information, Media and Technology Skills).

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What’s the Difference between a College and A University? (Part 2)

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Some time ago I did a bit on the differences (or some of them) between colleges and universities. I also did a comparison between them and high school. Somehow it disappeared, so here it is again.

What are some of the cultural differences between a college and a university? Here is a *very* preliminary comparison of high school, college, and university. I had always thought there was little difference between colleges and universities, but I am discovering that this is not necessarily the case, and that there are many similarities between high school and college.

Feel free to comment, argue, or suggest additions….

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Are students LESS tech savvy than they were 5 years ago?

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I am teaching a first year communications course for engineers. Most of the students seem to be making some real progress. As always, a few need very little guidance from me and others won’t listen to what I say no matter what.

I keep hearing about how tech-savvy today’s students are, and I have to say, I’m REALLY not seeing it. Many, if not MOST of the kids in my classes really don’t know very much about modern technology, and they FOR SURE don’t understand how most of it works. I am accustomed to working with Computer Science students who are, of course, at the extreme end of the geek-pool when it comes to tech so perhaps I’ve been lulled into a false sense of complacency.

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Fail: How NOT to do user experience design (II)

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Perhaps I should be more forgiving of people who really don’t know how to use “technology” yet. I try very hard to do that – when it is someone like my mother who’s never really had any need or use for it besides being able to surf the web and communicate with family.

BUT, we are rapidly getting to the point where NOT having access to the web and not having an email account is equivalent to living in North America in the 60’s and not having a telephone. Come ON.

I can also understand when someone who doesn’t really have any need to use the system in ways other than the ones described for my mom doesn’t know how to create and publish stuff online. Why should they? (Although I could also argue that this being the modern world and all, being able to do that is roughly equivalent to being able to write a traditional letter 40 years ago. So, get with it!)

These are mere annoyances. The ones that REALLY burn my toast are academics and administrative assistants who work in universities and colleges. I mean really. This isn’t rocket science. It’s been decades now since we started to be able to scan things, create and edit e-documents, and send emails (it’s been possible to do email at universities way longer than it’s been possible for the general public).

Here are a few items that top my list of bugs:

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Deconstruction and Takeaways (games)

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5 Lessons Professors Can Learn From Video Games –

Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Nice article.

via 5 Lessons Professors Can Learn From Video Games – Technology – The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The author suggests we might be in the “third level” of video games inside the ivory tower, one where people are

recognizing that games are often not the best tools in an educational setting, but when they are, they should carefully balance substance and sport.

At that level, it’s possible to deconstruct video games, looking for takeaways that professors can try in their own teaching, whether or not they ever pick up a joystick or click “play.”

I have some comment son each of those parts:

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Students fail at writing.

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Students failing because of Twitter, texting – Canada – Canoe.ca

“Thirty per cent of students who are admitted are not able to pass at a minimum level,” says Ann Barrett, managing director of the English language proficiency exam at Waterloo University.

“What has happened in high school that they cannot pass our simple test of written English, at a minimum?” she asks.

Even those with good marks out of Grade 12, so-called elite students, “still can’t pass our simple test,” she says.

via Students failing because of Twitter, texting – Canada – Canoe.ca.

I’m not really surprised. I’ve been teaching a technical writing course to 1st year engineers and many of them have poorer writing skills than my son did when he was 10. To be fair, some are quite good, but many (more than half, I’d say) are careless with their writing and proofreading.

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Fun with Google Docs (Part 1)

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OK, this is just too much fun.

It also has the potential to shift how we work together in some interesting and fundamental ways.
This is the first of a multi-part post outlining my experiences with Google Docs in the classroom and in my own academic publishing.
In late November, a colleague (Thanks Rod!) said he used Google docs for providing feedback to his students who were using Mahara to create learning portfolios. Initially I just assumed it was something like “OpenOfficeOnline” and when I first tried it out, I found it to be fairly limited as a word processor. Oh well, I thought. I don’t really like the idea of leaving my stuff “out there” anyways. I had used it to upload my CV, which it did without error but the formatting got messed up and, since I already maintain both a word version AND an online version of my CV I didn’t really fancy maintaining yet another. I kind of lost interest. But luckily, the story doesn’t end here.

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Global Game Jam is this weekend

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http://www.globalgamejam.org/

Live video can be found at http://www.globalgamejam.be/livewall/

The local Calgary site begins at about 4 PM today; others have started, of course, as the various time zones join up.

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