Authors: Amanda K. Bevis (University of Memphis) and Nicole Samuel (Wayne State University) As educators look for new classroom resources, the Internet and its current Web tools are providing innovative ways for teaching and learning. One of these innovative ways in using Web tools is through collaboration. The Horizon Report (2008) identified collaborative webs as one of the key emerging technologies and identified two areas of development which are Webware suites and collaborative workspaces.

Webware suites are online productivity tools that are synonymous with applications such as Microsoft Office Suite and Corel WordPerfect Office. Google Docs and Zoho Office are Webware suites that provide basic functionality with the ease to store and share documents online. No doubt these tools can cut cost for schools because they are free. No downloading or software installation is needed. Teachers can use these tools for collaborative work teams for students or ways to showcase student work by embedding or publishing finished projects to a class blog or website. Such tools can be used to invite professionals from different specialties to comment and provide real-world experiences.

Examples

View this table of Productivity Tools compiled by Jennifer Nelson. The focus of this chapter is on productivity suites that include word processing, spreadsheets, and forms. Google Docs and Zoho Office include a slide presentation component and you can learn more about presentations by clicking here.

Getting Started




2) Zoho Docs - A screenshot tour of features.




Getting Started with Zoho
Provides simple steps to help you get started with building and managing your data online.





Educational Setting

Integrating Zoho into the classroom

Using Google Docs in the Classroom
Tom Barrett, a primary school teacher in England, has provided a presentation illustrating Google Docs in the classroom.




Google Forms

The video below, The Piano by Aidan Gibbons, will intrigue you. You will want to see how Tom Barrett used Google Forms to capture students perceptions of the different emotions taking place.



Additional Resources

Setting up Google Forms
10 Google Forms for the Classroom
"Embedding Google Spreadsheets in Your Blog" by Jon Wittwer at Vertex42.com, Feb 26, 2009

Challenges
Amidst the positive effects of Webwares and collaborative workspaces in education, teachers must adapt to challenges they will face. These challenges include how to measure student progress, how to give authorship to collaborative work, and the knowledge to provide essential information on copyright and fair use issues (p.5-6). These online application tools can be used to engage parental involvement in the students learning experience other than periodic face to face meetings. However, safety and security of information is of the utmost importance. This blog post from Tom Barrett demonstrates some of the issues and possible solutions with the use of online reporting of students.


References/Acknowledgments

Barrett, T. (n.d.). Seventeen interesting ways to use google docs in the classroom. From http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/

Barrett, T. (July 19, 2009). ICT in my classroom. Online Reporting to Parents using Google Docs: A Proposal Update.

Retrieved July 28, 2009 from http://tbarrett.edublogs.org/2009/07/19/online-reporting-to-parents-using-google-docs-a-

proposal-update/

GoogleTools. Retrieved July 23, 2009 from http://googletools.barrow.wikispaces.net/

Johnson, Laurence F., Levine, Alan, and Smith, Rachel S. 2008 Horizon Report. Austin, TX: The New Media

Consortium, 2008.