Google Docs for graphic organizers

One of the central goals I have each year is to teach my students to articulate themselves well.  They need to be able to form cohesive, well-supported arguments as they draft their responses.  A critical part of this is the graphic organizer - getting them to plan their work, test each part of a paragraph to make sure it supports a central point, before they type it up.

My vehicle for teaching this is the Essay Map:





Students learn the acronyms, and then create their own version of the map to help internalize how the parts all fit together.  Then, when we get to a writing assessment, they are given graphic organizers that look like the images on the slide.

Up until last year, these organizers were strictly on paper.
Here is what my paper organizer for a paragraph looked like:

This worked fairly well, but it did have some limitations:

• Students would often be crowding information into the boxes - especially kids with large, "poofy" handwriting (the sort that can fit little faces inside the dots over their "i's")
• It became messy, as items were crossed out or adjusted based on suggestions - an arrow to indicate one idea needed to come before another one, etc.
• Those who had either more or less examples than the number of boxes felt locked in, or pressured to have a regimental number of points in each paragraph.
• Fitting everything on the organizer meant there was room for just the boxes, not any real guidelines.

So, during the second major unit last year, I decided to try out using Google Docs to create a digital organizer.  I started by uploading the original doc, and converting it into Google Docs editable format.  Once it was in there, I was freed from the constraints of the 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper - I could add in more specific instructions and reminders for my students as they filled in the boxes, giving them more direct instruction in the organizer itself.
The online version looks like this:


This new format worked well - by changing the share setting from private to 'anyone with the link' and making sure no one else could edit it, I enabled my students to create their own copies for their use.  I took a few minutes in class to walk them through the process - go to the link on our discussion board, make sure you're logged in to your Google Docs account, and then click 'make a copy.'  Rename it with your period, name, and the assignment, then share it with me.  I then walked them through some basics - how to add in more boxes if you need them, how to delete ones you don't need, etc.

Students were now able to organize their papers online. The new format gave them more guidelines, and was adaptive to their needs - as they filled in a box, it became larger as they typed - no more squeezing information into a set size.  They could add, remove, or move items without the organizer becoming cluttered... and it has these added benefits:

• I can pop in and give feedback at any time - in the sidebar, or the document itself.
• Student work is always saved, always accessible - no lost papers
• Through the revision history, I can monitor how much time someone is spending on the organizer, and offer feedback accordingly.
• Once the student is done organizing, they can take the raw material and copy it into a new document, to convert into a full draft - no more writing things out twice.
• At the end of a unit, I have sample organizers and drafts, to help teach other students the writing process.

This works well for me -- I would love to hear how others are approaching online organizing.

Google Docs for Drafting and Editing

This past year, I transitioned from traditional pen-and-paper peer editing to an online format using Google Docs. This was made possible by having each student set up a Google Docs account at the start of the year, when we sent home a permission form to the parents of each child on my team.  We received 100% support: each form came back, and all kids signed up.

When it came time to write our first paper, I spent a class period going over how to use Google Docs instead of the traditional Word.  One of the key points I figured out was that I needed a clear system by which students would name their files, and a protocol for sharing them with me.  For naming, I chose a combination of descriptors that I would use all year:  Period, Assignment, First initial and last name - for example, if Milan Kundera were in my period G class, and he created a draft of his essay for Under the Persimmon Tree, his file name would be:  G UTPT Essay M Kundera.  This is critical because, as the year gets rolling, I end up with tons of documents cluttering my Google Docs home screen.  I need a quick way to sort and file them:  I create folders for each period, and then subfolders for each unit / assignment.

 Then, when assignments come in, I can quickly sort by period and assignment, and drop the papers into their proper folders, keeping my home screen cleared.

So, with naming settled, I shared my email address with the students for sharing purposes, and I was ready to roll, and assignments started coming in.

One other little trick: I use the 'star feature as a way to check off when I've reviewed someone's draft - that way, I can quickly track which assignments I still need to see.


I've found that using GD has a number of benefits over the traditional paper form of doing business.  These benefits include:

• Being able to set deadlines at more flexible times.  For example, I might have one paragraph of a draft due by Friday evening at 9 pm - by that time, students need to share it with me.
• Being more focused in feedback I give.  One problem I had with collecting drafts was I'd comment on everything.  On GD, I set myself a couple limits: I would post 2-4 comments, focusing on big areas of concern in a document, and I came up with a set list of shorthand comments that I could use, such as a generic "GUM" at the top of a paper if the student needed to work on grammar / usage / mechanics.  I've found that, by giving just a few good comments, students are better able to focus on making improvements and I spend less time marking up papers.
• I can track student progress when necessary.  For example, through looking at revision history, I can see when a student worked on a document.  This has been helpful in parent discussions, to be able to show that someone either hadn't touched a document in the two weeks prior to a due date or that someone was spending entirely too much time on their work.  Either way, it's a great starting point for a conversation with the student or the parent.
• I have immediate access to exemplars.  When work comes in, I can flag documents that stand out, copy them into new docs, and remove student names.  On research papers, I've been able to create a 'master bibliography' by merging the works cited from several top students.
• I can give live support to students who need it.  On occasion, I've seen that a student was actively working on a document while I was online - I am able to access the document and discuss the work with the student.  Often, it's a quick "How's everything going?" in the side bar, giving them a chance to ask questions if needed.

For peer editing, GD has proved a boon as well.  Editing on paper was always difficult - it had to be completed in school (unless students trusted one another with hard copies of their documents), and the quality of the editing was entirely dependent on who actually got the document.  This was a problem - after all, we all have students who really need a lot of help on their paper, do we pair them with the solid writers?  What then happens to the solid writer's paper - will she or he get any good feedback?  

Online editing is an easy fix for the time constraints.  Students can start their editing in class, and finish it at home overnight or over a weekend.   Then, to fix the issue of editing quality, I created peer editing groups.  Within each group, each student is given a specific task - for example, student A might be responsible for checking the first body paragraph for content and integrity - does it support the thesis statement?  How?  This way, each paper has several editors examine it, and students focus on specific structural elements, rather than the document as a whole.  Overall, this has worked quite well.

My next step in this process is to broaden the audience for these papers.  Last year, the writing and editing was contained within my team.  This coming year, I hope to collaborate with another 8th grade team (we all cover the same units, in roughly the same order) so that both my students and myself can gain from the perspectives of others who, while familiar with the texts we are reading, bring in a different set of classroom experiences.  This pushes the comfort zone a little - how will my students compare with another teacher's?  What strengths and weaknesses within my own skill set will be exposed?  

This is a door I'm looking forward to opening.

If you have experience using Google Docs for peer editing, or have other suggestions regarding editing collaboratively with other teams / students beyond your classroom, I would appreciate your ideas!