Tip #3--Revision history and tracking changes

Note the revision history sidebar on the right

Depending upon what sharing permissions are set by the document owner, any document editor can access the revision history by clicking on "file" and then "see revision history."  It's advisable for teachers to require that students set sharing permissions as "can edit" for the classroom instructor, so that teachers can then view all necessary information.  Directions on how to do that are located here in the Google Docs help center.

Being able to see revision history is useful in multiple ways.  It allows teachers (and other collaborators) to see what changes have been made by what users.  It can allow teachers an easy way to see what revisions (if any) students have made to their documents throughout the writing process.  Depending upon the edit, the change will often appear in different colors.  In the above picture, Feb. 4, 3:21 PM shows that "clainhar" replaced a lower case "p" with an upper case "P."

In the event of essay rewrites or project "do overs," the teacher can quickly see what additions and changes students have made.  The "show more detailed revisions" button at the bottom of the revision history sidebar allows teachers to delve even more deeply.

In addition, revision history makes it easy to see when students have submitted their assignments.  This could allow teachers to set one deadline for all students and to know definitively who has met the deadline and who hasn't.

Tip #8--Using Google Groups to promote student writing

Google Groups is Google's take on an aspect of the web that's been around for as long as the Internet--discussion boards.  It is not fancy, but it can provide you with a great way to engage students in some informal writing and to engage them in discussion with each other about class concepts.

In the example above, AP English students have been asked to debate the issue of man's role in global warming.  You might ask, why don't I just have them do this in a Google document?  And the answer is that you could.  However, it does open up some possible problems, especially when dealing with young folks who don't always make the best decisions.  Since everyone who is sharing the document can edit it as they like, which could enable some ne'er-do-well to engage in electronic vandalism. Sure, you should be able to catch the culprit using revision history, but if someone were smart enough to lift another student's log in information, it might be hard to track down the true culprit.

Google Groups allows you as the instructor finer control over what is posted and even provides content filtering and the ability to flag for moderation posts that may be inappropriate .  It can be somewhat complicated to set up, however, but once it's done, it can be a very effective tool for student writing.

Mostly, though, the students become very motivated by the opportunity to engage with and comment on each other's ideas. It can often result in very animated, but moderated, discussions.