

Pay particular attention to the sections on " Inserting Comments" and how to " Share your document with other people" More! These are useful to spend a little time exploring. However, other features take advantage of the web-based format. For example, the steps for how to format a Google Doc will be quickly picked up by someone with just basic understanding of Microsoft Word. Since many of the features of Google Docs are similar to other stand-alone word processors, you might find that some of the sections in the guide are covering known territory. You can review the information found in this guide to using Google Docs.

The second shows how to add voice comments to Google Docs (Video: 6:08). The first describes a color-coding system (Video: 11:40).

Then, watch the two videos below demonstrate two additional ways to use Google Docs to provide feedback to students. Revisiting Using Google Docs in the Writing ClassroomĪll Things Google: Using Google for Writing Portfolios Getting Started with Google Docs in the Classroom In order to get explore some possible uses of Google Docs inthe classroom pick TWO posts from this list of Prof Hacker blog entries. Instead of having students turn in a stapled collection of multiple drafts and peer-feedback letters, instructors can quickly view the revision history of the document. A particularly rich and helpful component of using Google Docs to teach writing is that instructors can easily review the steps that students took in order to better assess the choices these writers made in drafting the paper. Students can easily highlight sections of their paper about which they have questions or concerns. Students can work through various drafts of their papers and instructors can check in and provide feedback at multiple points in the process. Most of the activities in the writing classroom can be performed through Google Docs: drafting, revising, peer editing, collaborating, and providing feedback. In addition, the writer's revision history is captured, allowing the instructor and the student to examine not only the final product but also the process used along the way. For a platform for classroom writing, Google Docs allows the instructor to give feedback to the writer at various points in the writing process. Since the documents are stored "in the cloud," Google Docs makes collaborating and version control more manageable. Google Docs (found within the Google Drive application) is an online tool for creating text documents that can be easily shared with other people.
