Collaborative Writing with a Twist

Q: Do your students do collaborative writing activities in class?

A: Of course they do!

Q: What are some collaborative writing activities you use with your students?
A: Roundtable and Jigsaw

Q: Did you know your students can use Google Docs as a collaborative writing activity?
A: What's Google Docs???

Although I already do collaborative writing activities in my class, yesterday I discovered how students can use technology - specifically Google Docs - to complete these activities. Google Docs is a powerful platform that allows students to work together as a team in order to complete a specific assignment/task.

Unlike the collaborative writing activities I do in my class, Google Docs enables students to collaboratively work on a document simultaneously. For example, when my students do a Roundtable activity, they take turns using a single pencil and paper to jot down their ideas and pass the paper to the next person in their group. However, if they were to perform the same writing assignment using Google Docs, not only would they be able to work together, but they can peer-edit and comment on each other's work instantly. This would also be beneficial if I were to assign a group homework, whereby students would not necessarily have to visit each other to work together on an assignment. Instead, they can simply meet online in a virtual world filled with a multitude of resources, all of which are at the tips of their fingers.

It's truly fascinating how technology offers students multiple learning experiences, especially those that allow them to collaborate and learn from each other.