Professor Emma O'Rourke-Powell on Collaborative Documents

Collaborative documents operate like traditional documents except they are cloud based which allows multiple users to access, edit, or comment on the documents simultaneously. Because of their usability by multiple parties, they offer a unique way to engage students or communicate with them. These documents can be edited in live time, used for questions and answers, or prepared for various in class activities. To learn more about their practical uses in the classroom, I sat down with professor Emma O’Rourke-Powell from UC Davis to find out how she utilizes collaborative documents in her classroom.

How do you use collaborative documents on a weekly basis? 

One: Weekly Agenda Document

Each week I create an agenda for the synchronous session and provide it to my students through a Supplemental Content page located in the respective week's module. Providing my students with this document ahead of time allows us to level set and understand expectations as we prepare for our session and it keeps them on track once we arrive.

• Sections I include in the agenda: session learning objectives, agenda, upcoming assignments, and key dates.
• Within the agenda, if there are resources relevant to a particular agenda item, I include a link (e.g., if they’re going to breakout rooms to jigsaw a concept, I include the link to the jigsaw shared slides / doc).
• I also make a copy that I call “PROF Version” and then add my target timing for each activity and any notes of things I want to be sure to cover. 
• If we complete any activities in class (e.g., the jigsaw) I can save a pdf and then upload it to that same Supplemental Material page after class is over. 

Two: 3-2-1 Exit Ticket

Each week at the end of the live session, I leave a few minutes for students to respond to the form linked above. I make it clear if they don’t finish by the end of class, I want them to do so within 24 hours. We know adults learn best if they do a little reflection, so before filling out the form, I remind them of this and ask them to be thoughtful and purposeful in their responses.

• Responses are used as part of one synchronous activity and on asynchronous activities:
• Synchronous Activity: I use some of their questions to start the next session (as a bit of a way to answer the questions & to give a reminder of the last session). 
• Asynchronous Activity: I use it in the Class Q&A doc (see next section).
• At the end of the quarter, I send each student their responses to the form from throughout the term.

Three: Course Q&A Document

At the beginning of the semester, I make a blog-style shared document to answer questions from class. This allows all students to channel their questions into one collective space. I can respond to them, let other students respond to them, or review them before the live session.

• If I get questions by email, or if there are questions in the 3, 2, 1 that are relevant to the class, I add them to the Q&A doc.
• Newer questions are at the top of the page.
• I’d like to see students posting directly within the Q&A, and maybe even replying to each other’s questions.

What is your advice for those hesitant to use collaborative documents?

Start small -- try using it for one activity, like for a break out room jigsaw. There may be hiccups the first time (giving the right people access to the document, for example), so it’s nice to try it for a lower impact activity. If that goes well, try using one for a whole session, like an agenda. The beauty is when you’re able to integrate content: like links to other resources and activities. 

Further Reading:
Collaborative Documents in Atrio
Supplemental Content Resource Page