Maybe Google Should Take Over the World, or at Least Education...

I have become increasingly reliant upon Google docs in my personal life and it has become the tool of choice among my friends and I when planning activities such as our weekly Pathfinder game. While trying to decide on a topic for this weeks blog post, I suddenly had a flash of insight and it became clear that the single most underutilized tool in the 21st Century classroom might very well be staring us right in the face... Google Docs.

What is Google Docs?

Google Docs is an easy to use web-based productivity suite that operates much like Microsoft Office. Google Docs users can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations but with the added benefit of these materials being saved online using your Google account. Google Docs also features built in file sharing and collaboration options.

How can Google Docs be utilized in the classroom?

Google Docs can be used in the classroom with students in a variety of ways.

• Easy group collaborations: Students can share a single document to record their ideas and contributions on group assignments. This might encourage students who are shy to speak up. Also since the document tracks user edits, teachers can check to ensure all group members are participating.
• Create quizzes and tests: Teachers could use the Google Docs as a tool to conduct testing eliminating the need for papers and even for a certain degree of grading. This is mostly through a forms feature.
• Provide feedback for writing: Students could share their work with a teacher and the teacher could offer feedback through the commenting options.

Google Docs could also be used to increase productivity of teachers. Some ideas here include:

• Collaborate on a document with other teachers: Just like the students, teachers can collaborate as a group to plan any number of activities from an awards day ceremony to an interdisciplinary lesson across several subjects.
• Lesson planning: Google Docs could serve as a repository for lesson plans. This would make the plans living documents as they could easily be updated as new ideas or new information needed to be added. These lesson plans could also be shared easily to help out new teachers.

Benefits to using Google Docs?

There are a few benefits to having students use Google Docs that should be acknowledged.

• Online storage from Google: This was mentioned before but it's worth pointing out that students will be able to easily modify their documents or continue work from class at home with ease using Google Docs. Students will no longer have to worry about how to transport their files to and from school nor will teachers have to worry about how the students will submit assignments.
• Cross platform support: Google Docs being a web-based service means that any web browser will allow access to your documents. There will be no worries about conflicting versions of Office software once the student gets the files home, nor will there be any compatibility issues due to OS (Mac vs. PC vs. Linux) differences.
• Security: Google Docs is a secure service and users need access to be able to view files. This should help with any legal issues concerning student privacy.
• Cost: Google Docs can be cheap depending upon how a teacher decides to deploy it. Districts would want to subscribe to Google's services but a classroom teacher with the assistance of parents could have all their students access Google Docs for free.

Acceptance so far?

Sadly there seems to be little information on how many teachers or students are already using Google Docs. This number is likely to rise as Google continues to roll out their Chromebooks for Education program. Chromebooks are laptops designed to utilize the Chrome browser to offer internet and apps to users in a safer more manageable environment. Early numbers show that hundreds of schools across 41 US states have at least some Google presence, it was not stated what percentage of these schools are K-12 vs. colleges.

Implications for 21st Century

I believe Google Docs to be a great tool for 21st Century Learning. The collaboration tools offered by Google Docs alone makes their use in the classroom worthwhile, but depending upon how these tools are used the possibilities for addressing multiple 21st Century student outcomes are staggering. Four C skills will develop as never before as students find creative ways through collaboration to display their mastery of subjects. Repeated use of Google Docs will allow students to develop a deeper sense of how to use media and we will even be able to see their development as creators since they will be able to look back at their earlier works.

Meanwhile, teachers will also benefit in the realms of professional development and curriculum and instruction. Teachers will be able to craft more in depth learning experiences for their students by collaborating with other professionals. Imagine how much a first year teacher could learn from a veteran teacher willing to share their Google Docs files and imagine the time saved since those files are online rather than in a dusty old file cabinet.