Pilot survey representing educators' views on easiest and most engaging Google Docs for novices to use for cooperative online learning purposes.

1. Which
Google Docs
for Beginners?
A pilot study report
by Paul Beaufait

2. On the menu:
Survey: Findings:
● Focus, ● Uses
● Purpose, & ○ Easiest,
● Target population. ○ Engagingest*, &
○ Most frequent.
Process:
● Preparation, Interpretations,
● Pre-piloting, & implications, &
● Piloting. limitations.

3. Focus & purpose of survey

4. Pre-piloting
● Pre-piloting ● Outcomes
○ Jan. 10-12, 2012 ○ Additional items:
■ Google Doc type
■ A co-participant
used most
in the Google
frequently
Docs for ● for personal
Collaboration endeavours, &
workshop, & ■ Moniker
■ A colleague in (optional)
● to enable follow-
Japan: up inquiries &
● Familiar with sharing of findings
Google Docs.

5. Piloting
● Piloting ● Outcomes
○ Jan. 16-20, 2012; ○ Clarification of
○ In Google Docs for terminology:
Collaboration ■ "... elaborated in
workshop (Jan. the help text for
2012): item [0.]2" (Jan.
■ Co-participants, 17, 2012).
■ Co-teachers, & ○ Improved
parallelism in
■ Legitimate
headings for:
peripheral
participants. ■ Survey items, &
■ Spreadsheet
columns.

6. Google+:
LinkedIn:
professional
professional
associates with
associates with
known interests in
"edu*" or "teach*"
educational
in their profiles.
technology; &
Target population

7. Findings: Item 0

8. Findings: Item 1

9. Findings: Item 2

10. Findings: Item 3

11. Interpretations (1)
Item 1: Ease of use ● One suggested it
for learners – "depends on
● 88.88_% (8 of 9) previous
favo(u)red page- experience...."
like documents; ○ Once beyond simply
adding comments to
● Likely suspects: existing files,
○ Familiarity with ■ "...each [type]
word-processing has its
tools, & 'challenges'"
○ Linear format. ● (2012.01.10).

12. Interpretations (2)
Item 2: Engagement ● Possible
of learners working in explanations for
cooperation with engagement via:
each other – ○ Forms (1) –
● Opinions split ■ Peer-to-peer
largely between: polling,
○ Documents (4), & ■ Individual or
○ Presentations (4). group data
● Likely suspects: analysis, &
○ Semblance to offline ■ Peer-to-peer
products and wares. explanations.

13. Interpretations (3)
Item 3: Most frequent ● Usual suspects,
personal use by again –
respondents – ○ Familiar formats &
functions for:
● In descending ■ writers, &
order: ■ presenters.
○ Documents (4),
○ Presentations (2), & ● Regarding
○ Forms (1).
○ Forms (1) –
● Pre-pilot surveys
■ Always paired
(2) did not include with
this item. spreadsheets.

14. Elaborations (1): Documents
● "... Documents are by default unitary
blocks of text, [so] it is difficult to give
students strategies for using them
cooperatively,
● the main difficulties being deciding who
does what,
● and whether and when and how it's
acceptable to edit something that a team
member has written."
(2012.01.12, emphasis added)

15. Elaborations (2a): Presentations
● "Presentations are composed of slides,
and it is comparatively easy to divide the
initial work up ....
● Since the amount of text is typically
smaller, it's also easier for a team member
to read all the text carefully[,] and
comment on specific chunks (e.g. a bullet
point) of text. ..."

16. Elaborations (2b): Presentations
● "... And since there are usually other
elements beside text, it may be easier to
start the discussion off by commenting on
design."
(2012.01.12)

17. Elaborations (3): Kit & kaboodle
● "My sister says that her girls' schools are
now using Google Docs for their school
assignments in elementary school and
middle school.
● There is no doubt that it appears to be the
best set of web tools ou[t]... there[,] and
● it is very cost effective because it is free!"
(2012.01.20)

18. Elaborations (4): Rave from S. Am.
● "I am a huge fan of Google Apps.
● Last year I had the chance to train several
teachers in Buenos Aires to start using
Google in the classroom.
● The results were amazing."
(2012.01.27)

19. Implications (1): Usability (+/-)
● Computer users ... also may long for
familiar with stand- advanced technical
alone computer- functions and formats
based documents available in familiar,
and presentations purpose-dedicated,
are likely to find word-processing and
Google Docs presentation
usable upon first software.
entry, but ...

20. Implications (2): Share-ability (+)
● Computer users ... in-the-cloud
familiar with email updates accessible
or other file for simultaneous use,
transfer protocols in various locations,
may overlook by multiple editors
Google Docs and viewers.
affordances for
automated, ...

21. Implications (3): Embed-ability (+)
● Computer users ... maximize the
unfamiliar with benefits of using
transclusion, in various Google Docs
particular it's for automated,
"implementations cooperative, online
on the Web" aggregation,
(Wikipedia), may commenting, editing,
need deliberate publication, and
guidance and updating of their work
explicit models in in multiple and
order to ... various locations.

22. ● The primary limitation of this pilot study is its small
scale (only nine responses in total, 2012.02.11).
○ A related limitation is the distinct possibility of
multiple responses from individuals.
■ At present, Google Forms apparently provide
no means of preventing multiple responses
other than using, and then immediately
closing separate forms.
● Such an approach would defeat
automated concatenation and graphing of
data from Google Forms.
Limitations (1)

23. ● Another limitation is the absence of focus on the
intended purposes of educators using, or hoping to
use, Google Docs for collaborative learning or
teaching purposes,
○ as well as on the fit, or expected fit, of specific
Google Docs file types, functions, and
affordances, to such collaborative purposes;
■ both from the point of view of the educators,
themselves, and from that of the learners
whom they strive to serve and support.
● Further investigation is necessary.
Limitations (2)

24. Which
Google Docs
for Beginners?
A pilot study report
by Paul Beaufait