Abstract:

Google Drive (formally Google Docs) has been acknowledged by many educators as an emerging technology that has had significant positive effects on students learning. For example, according to Rowe, Bozalek,and Frantz (2013), online collaboration using Google Drive enhanced the students' learning experience by providing a means for interaction, and an autonomous space outside of the classroom. The goal of this research was to determine how students at the American University of Sharjah perceived the use of Google Drive and its suite of applications in terms of benefits to their learning, increased motivation, and increased opportunities to connect or collaborate with their classmates. Throughout the course of one semester, students in a Writing 101 course used Google Drive to save drafts, write collaborative group essays, give and receive feedback, and participate in various connected and collaborative projects. The students were surveyed after 5 weeks and again at the end of the semester to determine their perceptions on the overall usefulness of Google Drive and to what extent Google Drive had increased their motivation, and learning opportunities. The results were overwhelmingly positive in terms of increasing the perceived benefit to organization, collaboration and the ease and effectiveness of teacher feedback. An additional benefit of the research will be to provide suggestions on the best practices for using Google Drive in Freshman composition courses.

Keywords:

Google Drive, Composition, Collaboration, Emerging Technologies.