I wasn’t able to join the webinar live due to work commitments, but I was able to watch the webinar at a later date. While watching this webinar I created a Sketchnote to show my learning. I chose this activity because it was tied into the topic for the week, and it was a way to represent/show my learning.
Prompt: Individual blog post #1: How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?
As a future educator, it is key to set up the platform in a meaningful way, especially when you are building an online learning environment. This is important because in order to create a safe, collaborative, and inclusive space for all students guidelines must be well communicated to students. The purpose of an online learning space is to have students interact, collaborate, and share ideas with their peers in a positive manner. To set up an online platform with students, the teacher would need to set up guidelines with students to foster good etiquette online. This would include a class discussion about positive comments, supportive and constructive feedback, and showing respect to peers. Alongside this discussion, the teacher would also have to go over privacy concerns online. In this course, I found going over FIPPA, as well as reading the article by Regan and Jesse (2019) it was a great introduction and was needed for all students to fully understand the gravity of being in an online platform. After discussing those essential topics before jumping into an online space with students, one would also have to encourage students to connect with each other. By doing this the teacher would create assignments for students to work through, and they would focus directly on creating and building those relationships with their peers. Lastly, a teacher would model what good etiquette online would look like, to show students what the expectations are in that space. I found this blog regarding online blogs to be very informative for teachers to set up with students, and it takes the guess work out of it!
The Community of Inquiry Framework isn’t a new concept for me, but having it laid out so clearly with the ideas illustrated made it easy for me to comprehend more deeply. I never realized that it was a concept, I just kind of had the same ideas regarding online learning. I believe that this is a great resource for all educators to explore, because it really gets across what makes a safe learning space functional for all learners. Another point I have with online learning spaces is that they are never as fluid as in person learning. I believe that online learning is a great tool to enhance and promote learning in a different space, but it should be used alongside in class instruction. After reading the article, Regan and Jesse (2019), it solidified the importance of parental concerns when it comes to learning in an online space. The safety of each and every student is always at the forefront of each educator. However, this article highlighted why parental concerns are always valid and need to be answered fully to ease any stress the parents might have about an online learning space. I am excited to jump into this course alongside my peers to learn more about what makes an open learning space optimal for all learners involved.
References:
CoI Framework | CoI. (2020). Retrieved 9 July 2020, from https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/
Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2
(2020). Retrieved 9 July 2020, from https://www.wix.com/blog/2020/05/teaching-online-ideas
After reading over Erin Fletcher’s blog post #1: How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn? I had some reflections, ideas, and suggestions that I would like to share below.
The pressure on teachers has been greater than ever in recent months, and I think you hit the nail on the head with the points you brought up. I love how you mentioned that teachers are creating an inviting, open, and safe environment for all students and people using the space, whoever that may be. Laying the ground work for safe, respectful interactions between students and their peers is so important. The article by Regan & Jesse that you used as a resource for you blog, supports your points well, and also highlights the importance of privacy for students. The idea you suggest for the teacher to be available to students is great! Having times put aside to connect with students out of classroom time is a perfect way to build those connections. It is also a way of saying “I am a safe adult that you can come to” without having to say it at all. Lastly, I love how you included what you hope to learn more about moving forward. There is something invaluable about setting goals for yourself. I look forward to reading your posts throughout this course!
After reading over Ariana Kelly’s first blog post, I had a few comments and suggestions to add! Prompt: How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?
Thank you for being vulnerable and honest about your concerns and stress regarding safe communication and interactions at this time. I’m sure most, if not all educators feel the same way right now, I know I do! I agree that blogging is such an important way for students to interact in 2020, since they’ve grown up with technology all around them. I loved how you included FIPPA within your discussion about privacy, its so important. It might be helpful to include images of the online platforms you mention (Google applications, WordPress, Slack exc.) to show the reader what the possibilities could be with students. A great use of resources to back up your points, so the reader can follow your points of view with string evidence to back up your claims. Lastly, I know it is challenging to keep the word count to a minimum, but I’d suggest adding in a Sketchnote so that the reader can trace your learning and maximize understanding. I cannot wait to see your learning progress in this course, and to strengthen my own understanding alongside you and Erin Fletcher. Great work Ariana!
In this video I explain why I chose this activity, the connection to the course and outside resources, and what I learned from completing the activity.
References:
View of Understanding personal learning networks: Their structure, content and the networking skills needed to optimally use them | First Monday. (2020). Retrieved 14 July 2020, from https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3559/3131
(2020). Retrieved 14 July 2020, from https://www.oipc.bc.ca/guidance-documents/1466
What is Prezi?
Prezi is a web-based application that allows users to work collaboratively to create a dynamic presentation. One of PC magazine’s top 100 websites and TIME’s top 50 websites, Prezi is adding “more than a million users a month” (Pack, 2014, p.38). Creating a Prezi is like creating a story for your students to read. In Shaadi Elswaifi’s article “On PowerPoints and Prezis”, he recommends thinking about “designing a movie” when creating a Prezi presentation. Instead of a typical PowerPoint where you go through slides linearly, the Prezi application allows you to present a bigger topic and then zoom in and out of different subtopics. This format is proven to make the content more memorable, which increases the retention of information (Prezi). It is also found to be “more organized, engaging, persuasive and effective than both PowerPoint and oral presentations” (Moulton et al., 2017, p. 31). With Prezi, you can present anywhere, online and offline. Prezi is also very user friendly with its clear instructions and how it offers multiple free Prezi templates. With Prezi the possibilities for creation are endless; you can show the life cycle of a salmon, the scale of the universe, or jazz up a math lesson!
Connections to Multimedia Learning Principles
As collaboration principle 2 states “multimedia should stimulate the effective and efficient distribution of thoughts and cognitive processes while members carry out tasks” (Kirschner et al., 2005, p. 553). Prezi allows multiple people to be working on different tasks in order to allow the concept of a presentation to be constructed collaboratively. It allows educators to use the personalization principle noting “people learn better when the words of a multimedia presentation are in conversational style rather than formal style” (Mayer, 2014). The learning through Prezi can be personal and presented as a conversation with the class over reading directly from slides. Additionally, the guided discovery principle states that “People learn better when guidance is incorporated into discovery-based multimedia environments” (Mayer, 2014). Prezi supports students getting started and offers multiple free templates to choose from.
For more connections to the Multimedia Learning Principles (such as the modality principle, signaling principle and redundancy principle) check out Erin Fletcher’s original evaluation on Prezi on her blog.
Why Choose Prezi?
Prezi is a great application to create a presentation because it includes many multimedia principles that are essential for student engagement and will enhance the overall presentation. Prezi offers a free option which gives you 100MB of storage space; “enough for a few Prezi’s” (Prezi). With the free option, all of your Prezi’s will be public. Only by paying a monthly or yearly subscription fee will you be allowed to create private Prezi’s. There are student/teacher discounts offered for as low as US$3/month. This subscription allows you to use premium images and icons, have privacy controls, PDF export and even import PowerPoint slides into your Prezi (Prezi).
While the classic PowerPoint uses a slide to slide linear model, “the major features of Prezi are an infinite canvas and a nonlinear presentation style” (Chou et al, p. 74).
This being said, “the nonlinear presentation style precisely depicts the essence of elaboration theory (i.e. one of instructional design principles), which provides detailed guidance for instructional sequences” (p. 74). Students have even noted that Prezi is an effective learning tool that lets them dive deeper into their learning. There are even “innovative features emphasized in Prezi that may arouse the learning interests of students, leading them to pay additional attention to learning materials” (p. 82).
Educators Experience With Prezi
As an educator, you can create your educator account and easily teach your students to create student accounts. You can also add a Prezi video to Microsoft Teams, in order to keep students up to date.
To dive deeper into an educator’s experience with Prezi, we decided to interview Erin Pomphery a TTOC with the Saanich School District. This interview done by Ariana Kelly was very insightful and gave us lots to think about when exploring Prezi further. Here is a link to the audio from that interview, as well as the link to the transcript.
Here is a video called “Teachers Using Prezi: Prezi Review”. It breaks-down what is beneficial about using Prezi as a teacher, and how it can be used in the classroom. This is a great video to highlight all of the amazing tools that you can access when using Prezi.
This page reviews and describes what Prezi is, as well as looking at the pro’s and con’s of Prezi for education purposes. Overall it is a great resource to look at because it is well put together, and includes real reviews from educators online.
Lastly, we included a teacher blog post about Prezi explaining how to create a video lesson using the application. Paul Tueske does a great job simplifying the information, so you understand and follow along as you work through his post. The blog post further illustrates how to prepare a Prezi video, and how to develop more customized templates. This illuminating blog post features numerous tutorial videos, showing educators how to record and share videos. Paul’s blog post is recommended for teachers who are providing remote learning opportunities for students during this uncertain time of COVID-19. We felt as though adding this blog post was very worthwhile at this time because it centers around how to create a Prezi to teach in the time of Covid-19. As Paul Tueske points out, Prezi is a great alternative to continue that connection with students in an online space.
Walk Through of Prezi
This video shows a walkthrough of a completed Prezi, and how it can look including many means of multimedia principles.
To learn more about Prezi check out the blog that they have on their website.
References:
Chou, P., Chang, C., & Lu, P. (2015). Prezi versus PowerPoint: The effects of varied digital presentation tools on students’ learning performance. Computers & Education, 91, 73-82. https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/science/article/pii/S0360131515300695?via%3Dihub
Elswaifi, S.F. (2016, May 4). On powerpoints and prezis: a case for considering prezi as an alternate in medical education. Medical Science Educator, 26, 397-401.
Fletcher, E. (2020, June 24) Prezi Example. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXBehkOgZ_A
Kirschner, P. A., Kirschner, F., & Janssen, J., (2005). The collaboration principle in Multimedia Learning. In R. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 547-575). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. Introduction to Multimedia Learning. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1017/CBO9781139547369
Moulton, S. T., Selen Türkay, & Kosslyn, S. M. (2017). Does a presentation’s medium affect its message? PowerPoint, prezi, and oral presentations. PLoS One, 12(7), 1-39, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1371/journal.pone.0178774
Pack, T. (2014, April). Create eye-catching presentations with prezi. Information Today, 31(3), 38.
Pricing plans and options. (n.d.). Prezi. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from https://prezi.com/upgrade/edu/next/.
Rogowski, M. (2019, June). Prezi Classic Review. Common Sense Education. https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/prezi-classic
Teachers Things That Work (2017, October 25) Teachers using Prezi: Prezi review. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPO7e2or9fo
Teske, P. (n.d.). How to create a video lesson on Prezi Video and prepare for next year. Prezi Blog. Retrieved June 24, 2020 from https://blog.prezi.com/first-prezi-video-lesson/?fbclid=IwAR2DfzR_lJk8cq3xY87Js88PGq1W8DvlQmbrZBpGIU1yiDvTVcdvBlWjRK4
The Presenter. (2016, December 13th) PowerPoint vs Prezi. Youtube. Retrieved June 25, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OU6gu8lcA4
The science of effective presentations. (n.d.). Prezi. Retrieved June 25, 2020, from https://prezi.com/the-science/?click_source=logged_element&page_location=footer_mobile&element_text=the_science
In this chapter, the collaboration principle was highlighted as a way of multimedia learning. There are three key points to consider to allow collaboration to be the most effective. First, tasks need to be cognitively demanding through group collaboration, while effectively using collective working memory. Secondly, cognitive processes and details needed for understanding must be productively shared among group members. Finally, multimedia surroundings must support and give the needed tools to allow communication regarding work, in order to collectively work together to complete tasks in the least amount of time. Therefore, as the authors of this chapter state, “The goal of multimedia in collaborative learning is the optimization of the relationship between transaction costs and distribution benefits” (Kirschner et al., 2014, p. 548).
The Collaboration Principle 1
The Collaboration Principle 1 states “collaborative tasks in a multimedia learning environment should be cognitively demanding enough to necessitate working” (p. 548). As educators, we can not go “simply placing learners in a group and assigning them a task” (p. 549) and tasks need to be beneficial to group performance. Research shows having students work on tasks that are problem-solving as a group rather than recalling, led to greater outcomes. Noted in an article “three-person, four-person, and five-person groups had significantly fewer trials to solution… than the best of an equivalent number of individuals” (Laughlin et al. 2006, p. 649). Therefore, working in collaborative ways can allow learners to look past their own working memory and experience a collective working memory, in order to understand more. An implication of Principle 1 is the task may be too difficult for one learner, making them rely consistently on collaboration with others. It can also lead to students feeling they must become an expert in their part of group work in order to share with others. Educators need to see these implications and adapt learning environments to support all learners.
The Collaboration Principle 2
The Collaboration Principle 2 states “multimedia should stimulate effective and efficient distribution of thoughts and cognitive processes while members carry out tasks” (p. 553). For this to be achieved, there are a few things needed to be considered and implemented when individuals work collaboratively. When individuals work together effectively, they end up investing less cognitive effort than those working alone since they are able to divide information across “a larger reservoir of cognitive capacity” (p. 553). Working in a group allows cognitive processing to work on both the individual and group levels. On the individual level, one learns by internalizing their thoughts. On the group level, one learns by externalizing their thoughts and communicating with others. Without the externalizing of one’s thoughts, collaboration cannot take place. To collaborate most effectively, group members should have a common goal and focus, be aware of each other’s prior knowledge and ensure tasks are not divided among group members. Group members need to depend on each other to successfully complete a task. As Wageman states in her research, dividing tasks reduces interdependency and such groups “often run into disasters” (1995, p. 158). Educational Technology tools such as Personalized Annotation Management System (PAMS) and Knowledge Forum (KF) can also be used to help group members communicate and share resources with each other.
The Collaboration Principle 3
To create an effective multimedia environment for collaboration, it must include tools all group members have access to in order to engage students with their interactions. The third collaboration principle states “multimedia should facilitate effective and efficient communication and regulation of actions” (p. 561). Successful collaboration requires learners to interact in two dialogical spaces: the content space and the relational space of collaboration. The content space is to further develop the task domain. The relational space of collaboration is establishing a shared understanding. Learners often face challenges with successfully collaborating in multimedia environments; however, these facilities can offer “opportunities to facilitate transactional activities” (p. 562), which can play a valuable role in learning outcomes and understanding. Collaborative multimedia learning can be split into two relationships. The first is a complementary relationship where people or media have significantly different functions or characteristics and can compensate for each other’s limitations. The other is a supplementary relationship where people or media have many things in common. For learners to engage in effective and efficient collaboration, they need to share their knowledge and opinions. Multimedia can support this through representational guidance and by participating in communicative activities that support shared understanding to limit group challenges, such as free-riding and social loafing. An implication of principle 3 would be to make sure there are opportunities for effective communication to foster discussion, as well as coordinating the group’s background knowledge to provide a holistic approach.
Cognitive Theory
Research & Implications for Future Research
The limitations of current research and implications for future research regarding the collaboration principle in multimedia learning are extensive. The first limitation would be creating an ideal group size for collaborative learning. Expanding a group would increase the collective working memory of the group which would be beneficial, but the cognitive load goes along with social factors of collaborating with peers would also increase. Another limitation would be how to breakdown and study the cognitive perspective on collaborative learning in multimedia learning environments. The success of the learner and learners, in this case, depends on the interactions between cognitive, motivational, and social factors.
In Practice Connections
Some of our favourite edtech applications for communicating and collaborating are google docs, google classroom and microsoft teams. Make sure if you are using a new application, you discuss it with your District Instructional Technology Coordinator first to ensure it has the proper privacy settings.
A resource that we have also included to get a sense of collaboration in the classroom is a Grade 3 cross-curricular lesson plan involving English Language Arts and Drama.
In the article “Teacher Competencies for the Implementation of Collaborative Learning in the Classroom: a Framework and Research Review” by Kaendler et al., the authors state the effectiveness of collaboration is largely dependent on the “quality of student interaction” (2014, p. 505). As educators, to ensure collaboration among students is successful, it is important to plan student interaction, monitor it, support it, and consolidate it and then reflect on it (p.505). One way to do this is by fostering a positive classroom community from the beginning of the year. Activities such as the ones outlined in this website can achieve this.
We highly recommend giving this article a read for more information on how to foster student interaction that is beneficial for learning.
References
BookWidgets. (2020, March, 25). How to set up school communication from a distance- 9 communication apps for teachers. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK7pt4TD-dk
Kaendler, C., Wiedmann, M., Rummel, N., & Hans, S., (2014). Teacher competencies for the implementation of collaborative learning in the classroom: a framework and research review. Educational Psychology Review, 27(3), p. 505-536. doi: 10.1007/s10648-014-9288-9.
Kirschner, P. A., Kirschner, F., & Janssen, J., (2005). The collaboration principle in Multimedia Learning. In R. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 547-575). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511816819.022.
Laughlin, P. R., Hatch, E. C., Silver, J. S., & Boh, L. (2006). Groups perform better than the best individuals on letters-to-numbers problems: Effects of group size. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 644-651.
Plans, P. (n.d.) 5 ways to build classroom community. The Secondary English Coffee Shop. Retrieved from https://secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.blogspot.com/2017/02/building-classroom-community.html.
Wageman, R. (1995). Interdependence and group effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly, 40(1), 145–180. doi: 10.2307/2393703.
I had the opportunity to peer review an interactive learning resource on impulsive purchase behaviour which pod 6 created.
I was super excited at the opportunity to review your interactive learning resource on impulsive purchase behaviour. Your resource is very thoughtful, and the attention to detail was great to see, plus it was well laid out! The choice of activities made complete sense, and I loved how each activity built on the previous one. My suggestion would be to keep the first section a little more broad, having the text based resource, but also allowing the learners to explore their provocations of the topic as well. This will enhance the learners engagement, and they will have the opportunity to learn at their own pace and dive further into a resource they found interesting. Including the role play section into the activity list is a great idea and gets everyone moving around, everyone can use a brain break, and this activity will solidify understanding. The exit ticket and the peer review post are both great ideas to help the learners sum up all of their findings, as well as showing their understanding on impulsive purchase behaviour. I liked how you included the subtopics of the learning recourse, but it would be more beneficial if it connected directly with each activity in more detail. Overall, I found the activities chosen connected to your ideas well, and allowed learners to comprehend the topic in depth after working through all four.
The rationale behind these activities are well thought out, and your explanation makes it easy to follow and see the connections you made. Perhaps you may consider that including constructivism, behaviourism, cognitivism, and inquiry as your rationale for the activities, within a two-hour time period, might be a little confusing and tricky to successfully hit every point. Although you did a great job at explaining these theories, I wasn’t sure about how you made the connection to the activities, more detail might be helpful for the reader. I found the links to articles very insightful, and showed how extensive your research was.
I believe this topic is useful and totally relevant for this assignment. I loved how you included your connection with consumer purchase behaviour, and how your selected age group has a rationale behind it as well. I think a more detailed explanation as to why your pod decided to select this topic would elevated the learning context section. The learning outcomes look great and connect to your activities well. Based off of the criteria, it seems that you will need to fulfill another learning outcome for the first activity. The assessment plan includes formative and summative assessment within this interactive learning plan, which is great to include! The assessment plan makes it easy for any reader to take this plan and use the resource in the future. It was great to see how you included the instructor and what the learners would be doing as well.
The selection of English as a second language learners, and loss of hearing are both different kinds of learners you addressed their learning needs very well and in-depth. The use of technology is imperative for the students success, and you did a great job at highlighting that with using google tools. It might be helpful for these students to be paired up with a buddy in the class so that they can work through activities with, or support each other when needed. It was great to also see the consideration of a colour blind student as well as ELL and loss of hearing student. I think this section meets the criteria for this assignment and then some! With this interactive resource, technology plays a huge role in keeping students engaged by using a bunch of tools in order to do that. Pointing out the fact that millennials are the target learner, and how technology is integrated into that was perfect! Using the internet to do research and discover more about the topic is always a good use of time. Using an auditory textbook is beneficial for students who get distracted, or struggle with getting meaning from simply reading the textbook (ELL learners.) Again, using google tools is a great resource that will support all students learning throughout the activities.
I found this interactive learning resource on impulsive purchase behaviour very informative, and with a few small tweaks it should be in great shape! Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to view and comment on your resource. I learned a bunch along the way, and now I might have to dive into more on this topic. Great work!
In our group, we looked at the apps “Flipgrid”, “Google Docs”, “Duolingo” and “Prezi”. After having a discussion on which app we wanted to research deeper, we chose Prezi. Prezi is an app that is not only accessible for teachers to use but also for students of all ages. It allows for a variety of ways to be both presented and created. It’s user friendly and allows for presentations to be 3D and interactive with the addition of pictures, words and videos.
Although Flipgrid is a great classroom tool, we decided against it because Prezi has more interesting elements that we can focus on. Since the group evaluation of the selected multimedia app assignment makes up such a large component of our final grade, we wanted to ensure that we had enough content to cover for the evaluation. Another application we evaluated was Google Docs. As a whole, Google Docs is appealing because students can connect and collaborate on a platform with the ability for teachers to provide support throughout their learning. Although it’s a great application to use for students to collaborate with peers, it didn’t connect well with the multimedia principles without a set of criteria given by the teacher. For this reason, we chose Prezi because students are able to use this application more in-depth, and as a teacher, the design can connect many more principles than Google Docs.
The third Multimedia application we reviewed was Duolingo. As a whole, this application provides an engaging and interactive opportunity where information has been presented through a gamification method. However, we didn’t choose to spotlight it for our final evaluation of a Multimedia App. This platform is limiting because it’s solely for learning another language. It’s user-friendly but lacks the ability to allow users to interact with each other beyond a score. An educator can review statistics of how their students are doing but they cannot provide descriptive feedback via the application or share additional resources. A successful Multimedia App should touch upon most or all of the principles, however, Duolingo lacks prosperous cooperation of most of Multimedia Learning Principles. Prezi touches on several Multimedia Learning principles. Some of these principles include modality, redundancy, signalling and collaboration. These principles were noted on the first app review blog post but will be explored more in our final detailed review of Prezi next week.
Multimedia principles in relation to Google Docs are dependent on the criteria set up by the teacher prior to students accessing the platform. Without criteria the only multimedia principle that Google Docs promotes is collaboration. Google Docs fundamental appeal to educators and students alike, is the fact that it is focused on working with peers to create a document or resource. With a set of criteria given to the students by the teacher, it would incorporate many more multimedia principles. Adding more criteria will increase engagement with students, and allow for room to touch on various multimedia principles as well. Split-attention principle highlights the importance of having words and pictures integrated to help explain and support their point. If a teacher asks students to add images and captions to enhance the resource, as well as their learning on the topic it would create room for this principle to flourish. Another principle that could be added to strengthen student learning is the self-explanation principle. This principle is important for students to reflect on their learning, while also taking responsibility. The teacher can implement this principle by getting students to include a reflection of their learning on the topic at the bottom of the document after they have completed their resource.
To discuss that overall evaluation in relation to multimedia learning using Google Docs, I will be using a rubric for eLearning from the University of Western Ontario. The rubric talks about functionality, accessibility, technical, mobile design, privacy, social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence. I am going to focus on a couple particularly to highlight Google Docs advantages and disadvantages ass an application. First, I want to talk about what makes Google Docs so appealing to educators and students. Accessibility is a huge thing, the cost to use Google Docs is free, and as long as your have a computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone or any digital device that connects to wifi, you are set to sign up for an account. This can be done through email that will link up to your Google account, therefore giving you access to Google Docs. With that being said, creating the account is a bit of a challenge in relation to privacy and data sharing. Since the account needs to be linked to an email, it will require a third party application in order to create.
References:
From my personal experience with Google Docs, I find it very accessible for most if not all my peers to connect on the application. Navigating the application itself is straight forward, and looks and works similar to pages, or word. From the prospective of an instructor, I believe that Google Docs would be beneficial to keep students accountable, and have a space for students to collaborate from basically anywhere. It would also make it easy for an instructor to view progress, and make comments along the way to support students, as well as mark directly off of the platform.
Anstey, L., & Watson, G. (2018, September 18). A Rubric for Evaluating E-Learning Tools in Higher Education. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/9/a-rubric-for-evaluating-e-learning-tools-in-higher-education
Blog by Alyssa Lloyd 