Inspired by ProfHacker, I tried using Google Docs for collective note-taking in a recent class. It quickly became clear that this was not simply a means to work together in recording important points, but a means to interact with one another in the risk-free manner that this generation has grown accustomed to: anonymously.
As the classroom became quiet as they interacted with their iPad screens rather than verbally with one another, I had a sense of impending doom. But some students seem to have actually felt that using such electronic interactivity was an aid to discussion, allowing people to be honest even about controversial issues without fear of being judged.
I’m still digesting how it went, but it certainly seems clear that the presence of such technology in the classroom, in the hands of all students, allows them to interact differently than in the traditional small group discussion; and many of them are more comfortable using technology to interact. It also kept the class as a whole connected even when broken up into small groups.
On a related note, the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader is out – version 10 – and it has annotation such as highlighting built in!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In