How does Google Docs affect students’ motivation and engagement when editing and revising written work?

1. Restuccia and Kingery
Action Research

2. How does Google Docs affect
students’ motivation and
engagement when editing and
revising written work?
• Hypothesis: We believed that Google Docs
would increase student motivation and
engagement when editing and revising
written work.
• Goals:
– See writing as a process
– Improve editing and revising skills

3. Technology used:
• 30 MacBook Air laptops each in a 7th
and 8th language arts classroom
• Google Docs

4. Process leading to
anticipated outcomes
• September: Collaboration and teaching
basic functions
• October-November: Practicing functions
and beginning to write and edit; 1st data
collections
• December-January: Continuing to write
and edit, introducing more advanced
functions; 2nd data collections
• February-April: 3rd data collections

5. Engagement research
outcome
• Higher engagement when writing and editing on
Google Docs (as opposed to paper/pencil):
– Questionnaire: higher familiarity breeds
confidence, which leads to higher engagement
– Editing/revising task: Number of redirections
needed (1st paper/pencil, then on Google
Docs):
• 8th: 9.6  4.6
• 7th: 2.8  1.1
– Exit slip: getting past barriers– “…it is easy
for me to type, and I enjoy not getting
writer’s cramps.”

6. Questionnaire data
• Close-ended, megacognitive questions about
students’ feelings and behaviors in relation to
the computer and Google Docs
September
April
7th Grade Data

7. • 8th grade data
September
April

9. Motivation research outcome
• Students were more motivated to edit and
revise when using Google Docs
– Questionnaire: “How helpful is Google Docs in
editing and revising your work?”
– Editing/revising task: Thoughtfulness of
feedbackaverages (1st paper/pencil, then on
Google Docs
• 8th: 3.6  3.9
• 7th: 3.5 4.2
– Exit slip: Are you more motivated pencil/GD?
“I am more motivated to write when using Google
Docs because I like the comment feature.”

10. “How helpful is Google Docs when
editing and revising your work?”
• 7th grade data

11. “How helpful is Google Docs when
editing and revising your work?”
• 8th grade data

13. Surprising outcomes
• Higher homework completion and turn-in
• Easier to write– ideas “popping into their heads”
• Working better between girls and boys, peers
who aren’t friends
• Reciprocal teaching, self-sufficiency
• Behavior management
• Ease of sharing assignments, powerpoints, class
notes
• Expanding into WallWisher, blogs, Google
Sites, taking laptops home

15. Barriers and facilitating
forces
BARRIERS FACILITATING
• Time!!!!! • Going paperless
• Technology • Having a team!
malfunctions, learn • Early proposal
ing curve, and drafting and
support support
• Excess of writing • Great technology
tasks– hard to fit
everything in (data
write-ups, etc)

16. Suggestions
• Have teams
• Breaking up writing assignments into smaller
pieces
• In-building tech support: having Jen Scypinkski
nearby was GREAT– but not everyone had that
• Periodic work days during the fall, especially:
half or whole day subs
• Option to do this action research as a “no-
credit” course– might inspire more teachers to
get involved