Module 3

Ooooooooooooooooo...I like Google Docs - my favourite new discovery so far!

It wasn't until I watched the YouTube video showing just how "messy" sending and re-sending documents through email can be, that I actually recognised how often I have been in a situation where work could all be collaborated by a whole bunch of people, on the the one topic, on the same document - programming with grade partners initially came to mind.

I was also this week in the process of editing one of my cousin's uni assignments. We were attaching different ideas and sending them to each other over days and days. There was colour coding, italics and inverted commas everywhere - extremely difficult to keep track of! How fantastic had I known about Google Docs sooner.

But I needed to think about situations where it could be used in class? I know earlier in the year, working on Narratives, that the most time consuming task was conferencing and editing with the students on draft peices of paper (which, suprise suprise, were often lost, ripped, thrown out, stained...you get the idea). If I could introduce this online editing tool, I feel that a lot more constructive work would be achieved.

So, I wanted to get into it straight away - Talent Quest Time! Last year myself and one of my colleagues organised a Talent Quest with the Student Representative Council. "As part of the process, the SRC made up sign on sheets for people wishing to audition. Not only did we have over 40 people sign up, but the complete Sign On sheet was a mess - students crossing out other people's names, names scribbled onto the piece of paper. We both had a hard time trying to work out who was on the sheet and for what reason" (Thanks for your words Rena) ;)

My colleague then had a thought - we could create a Sign On Sheet online using Google Docs. All the students had to do was sign on electronically and not only did we have a neat, clear record of the auditions, we:
a) saved a lot of time having to type up audition names
b) could instantly see the list merged with all of the students' names on it.
She created a document and sent it to me. I edited it and am now in the process of talking to the students about it. A tough task ahead!