Shared Documents

 

One way to have students get more experience with writing without necessarily increasing the teacher's burden of reading and evaluating is to have students share and respond to each other's work.

 

There are a variety of tools available for sharing and responding to student-generated documents.

 

Google Documents

docs.google.com

Google Documents & Spreadsheets allows group members to post existing documents (text and Word formats included) and to edit, upload and share changes from any Web browser.  The software tracks all changes, so participants can review and revert edits before they become final.  Because all collaborators work on the same document--stored on the Google servers--this tool solves the problem of multiple versions.

 

Google Documents can also function as a digital drop box.  Students post an assignment on their Google Docs account and then email the link to the instructor.  Instructors can enter comments directly into the assignment, and then track the revisions that students make in response.

 

Google Documents might also be able to function as a content management system for ePortfolios.  I'm still exploring the possibilities, but it has the advantage of being both free and easy to use.

 

Blogs

www.blogger.com

www.livejournal.com

www.ive.cuny.edu/blogs

Blog servers allow students to create ongoing journals of writings.  Other students and teacher can read the Blog and post comments and responses.  Access to the journal by outside audiences is subject to some user control (LiveJournal generally has more access restriction capabilities than Blogger).

 

Journal LX, a product by Learning Objects, Inc., permits the instructor to create journals for students inside the password protected Blackboard environment.  Journals can be made available for editing and commenting by individual students, by groups, and by the entire class.  The instructor always has access to all journals and therefore can establish meaningful written communication with students in writing in private spaces within Blackboard.  Journal LX is very similar to PB Wiki in that it allows for text editing and for uploading media rich content.  Teams LX, another of the Learning Objects building blocks, is described below.  KCC is one of the very few colleges in CUNY that does not have the Learning Objects, Inc. building blocks available to faculty. 

 

Wikis

www.pbwiki.com

http://www.wiki-site.com/

Regular Web sites are usually created by a single person or entity that posts the site up for everyone else to come and view.  So they only work in one direction.  Only the site creator can change the contents.  Visitors  can view, but not change or edit, the contents of a Web site.

 

A wiki is a type of Web site that allows visitors to change or edit the contents of the site.  Some wikis allow any visitor to change anything on the site, other wikis limit editing ability to only specific visitors with permission.  Changes are recorded and moderators can revert changes back out as needed.

 

So a wiki allows a group of users to create a collaborative Web site, with everybody working together on the same site from different locations at the same time.  A wiki allows a group of people to combine their time, knowledge and effort into a collection of information that is available to everyone the whole time.

 

For educators, wikis can do things like the following:

-Use a wiki to host an on-line work group or faculty development seminar.  The participants can bring up the wiki, make their contributions or suggestions to the evolving content of the wiki pages, and instantly share that work with other participants.  Use a wiki to plan a conference, collaborate on an institutional knowledge resource, or share and discuss readings.

-Use a wiki to allow students to share their writing from class.  If the wiki allows access control, students can form peer response groups and respond to each other's essays, or work collaboratively on a group project.

-Use a wiki as a content management system to allow you to update your course Web sites quickly and efficiently.  Although this use doesn't capitalize on the ability of visitors to edit pages, wikis are quick and efficient ways to get content, documents, course calendars, handouts and so forth on the Web, and to back out changes that you decide later you don't want.

 

The big value of wikis over other kinds of document sharing applications is that (1) they can be opened up to a wider audience, since they can be accessed by anyone who can browse the Web and (2) they are really quick and easy to use.  Most of all, though, particularly for faculty development, a wiki leaves a persistent, searchable record of the work that a group or seminar has done, so that later groups and seminars can use the material for their subsequent work.

 

Teams LX by Learning Objects allows instructors to set up easy-to-use password protected wikis inside Blackboard course sites.  The instructor can create wikis that are available for viewing and comments by the entire class, by teams within the class, or by individuals.  These enhance the learning experience by creating important spaces for all types of communication -- including media rich content --between instructors and students and among students within the Blackboard environment

 

 

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Turnitin

www.turnitin.com

Most people think of Turnitin as just a plagiarism checker.  But actually it goes beyond checking for originality and works more like a sophisticated, multi-functional drop box for document sharing.  Kingsborough's turnitin account has these capabilities:

 

• It includes a discussion board, email and gradebook tools.
• You define your courses on the turnitin server, distribute the registration number, and have complete control over who registers for your class, so you can do things that are currently not possible within our Blackboard system.

• combine multiple sections into a single Turnitin course
• reuse the course in later semesters without copying
• allow full guest access
• allow access after the semester's end for students with incompletes
• sit down with a student who is having trouble getting into your turnitin course, and enroll the student yourself

• Because students supply their own email addresses when they enroll in your turnitin class, emails you send through turnitin go to accounts that students actually use. 
• The assignment tool accepts most file formats and reformats everything for consistent and quick reading.  You flip through essays with a forward/back button, or make a bulk download of the files and review them that way.  The  grade (which goes into the gradebook and can be viewed by students) can be handily assigned directly from the essay review screen.
• A peer review tool allows you to create assignments in which students read and respond to each other's essays. 
• Turnitin provides tools for creating rubrics.  You can assign rubrics to particular essays or peer review assignments so that students can use the rubrics too.
• Additonal modules (that Kingsborough doesn't currently have) allow reviewers to insert marks and flags into an essay.

 

Although turnitin can be accessed through Blackboard, it can also be accessed directly at the turnitin.com site, bypassing Blackboard completely.