Activity 22 - Suggest a Technology that is important for Open Education
Google Docs
Google Docs is something I have started using during my time on this module (Thanks to Helen!) through the first collaborative activity we had to undertake. I see Google Docs as a kind of slightly different, improved version of a wiki, allowing for multiple users to access one document at the same time, editing and adding information and tracking contributions by users with shared access to the document. This makes it an excellent technology for working together in groups on projects and allows a lecturer (when the document is shared) the ability to drop in on what a group is doing, see who is actively contributing and who is not, highlight areas of good work, point out areas that are weak or give feedback and encouragement in situ.
But I suppose the most important and liberating aspect of the technology for openness in education is that it is free. Not requiring the technology to be purchased or licensed allows for a greater degree of uptake, and can be especially impactful on poorer or developing countries. It also offers a compatible platform for ideas to be discussed and developed, as I could be using a tablet or an iMAC and my friend on a PC in Mexico City could both still be editing the same document as it only requires the internet and a browser.
We are already seeing an uptake of Google Docs and other Google Apps, having recently attended a Google talk at the JISC DigiFest 2015, where a working case study was presented by a College in Worcester, on how they have started using Google Apps as a replacement for a VLE and how Google Docs forms a massive part of the way their students are expected to engage with academic studies.
H817 Block 2 Week 2 Activity 22
Activity 22 - Suggest a Technology that is important for Open Education
Google Docs
Google Docs is something I have started using during my time on this module (Thanks to Helen!) through the first collaborative activity we had to undertake. I see Google Docs as a kind of slightly different, improved version of a wiki, allowing for multiple users to access one document at the same time, editing and adding information and tracking contributions by users with shared access to the document. This makes it an excellent technology for working together in groups on projects and allows a lecturer (when the document is shared) the ability to drop in on what a group is doing, see who is actively contributing and who is not, highlight areas of good work, point out areas that are weak or give feedback and encouragement in situ.
But I suppose the most important and liberating aspect of the technology for openness in education is that it is free. Not requiring the technology to be purchased or licensed allows for a greater degree of uptake, and can be especially impactful on poorer or developing countries. It also offers a compatible platform for ideas to be discussed and developed, as I could be using a tablet or an iMAC and my friend on a PC in Mexico City could both still be editing the same document as it only requires the internet and a browser.
We are already seeing an uptake of Google Docs and other Google Apps, having recently attended a Google talk at the JISC DigiFest 2015, where a working case study was presented by a College in Worcester, on how they have started using Google Apps as a replacement for a VLE and how Google Docs forms a massive part of the way their students are expected to engage with academic studies.