Abstract:

An online collaborative working environment like Google Docs allows for the same document to be accessed and worked on by several people at the same time. It is therefore quite useful for work of a collaborative nature, for example, a written team report or a proposal.

Because of the collaborative nature of the environment that Google Docs provides, it can be used in the classroom to facilitate team peer evaluations. This paper presents an account of the use of Google Docs in an undergraduate business and technical communication course which requires students to work in teams to evaluate proposals that are also written collaboratively in teams. For the students, the approach enables all team members to view one shared document and participate in the evaluation process, instead of having one team member type or write the comments on behalf of the team. For the teachers, the approach enables them to view the team's comments and even communicate with the team quietly during the evaluation process thus avoiding disrupting the entire class. At the same time, teachers can also view several written documents and the comments being made on them by the evaluating teams at one computer terminal, making facilitation very convenient. Hence, the use of Google Docs for a team peer evaluation of a piece of writing could lead to more effective student collaboration and engagement as well as more effective classroom facilitation.

The paper presents excerpts of students’ writings and the corresponding comments from their peers in Google Docs, the teacher’s observations during the evaluation process, and students’ responses to an online survey on the peer evaluation activity. In addition, it discusses some of the challenges faced in working in the collaborative online environment that Google Docs provides. A set of recommended actions aimed at ensuring greater effectiveness of using Google Docs for collaborative peer evaluations of students' works is then shared for those who are keen to make use of it in their own classrooms.

Keywords:

Team Writing, Online Peer Evaluation.