Jigsaw

Introduction
As one of the assignments in Session 5 of CEP 811(a course in Michigan State University’s Educational Technology Program), my group had to select either Google Apps or Zoho to explore in a jigsaw activity.  Within our discussion forum, we decided to divide up Google Apps in the following manner:

Casey Schaub - docs
Jeff Dagg - spreadsheet
Jeff Vogt - presenter
Carla Hendon - ??

After reviewing our chosen applications we were required to write individual blog entries and then submit a collaborative report to the instructor.

Spreadsheet Summary
My portion of the jigsaw was the spreadsheet.  At first glance, it looked very similar to Excel but with far fewer bells and whistles.

Features I Liked
There are a number of features that I liked about the application.  One feature is the “formula builder”. It supports a wide range of mathematical functions, certainly enough to satisfy the needs of a high school math and science curriculum.  The “form builder” is also a useful feature.  It allows database templates, e.g. surveys, to be set up and administered electronically. The data is automatically returned to a spreadsheet for analysis.  I also liked the “drawing tools”, they help turn a spreadsheet into a lab report.

Features I Did Not Like
Although the application has many good features, there were several I found frustrating.  I thought the application ran slowly; I could easily out type it. I was not thrilled with the “help” system. I don’t feel it was designed with novice users, like students, in mind.  You have to be willing to go through the help index or search through user postings to find the help you need.  This makes things tough if you don’t know the name of the command you need help with.  During the time I played with the application, I was not able to figure out how to type in Greek symbols so I could enter math or chemistry equations. I thought that the four font choices were slim pickings for a society used to accessing dozens of fonts.  Another aspect I did not like was the fact that there is no “zoom”.  I tend to work with large data sets and I hate having to scroll - I like to be able to see all the data at one time to get a feel for a layout.  The “autofill” feature is not nearly as flexible as the “fill series” feature in Excel.  I got stuck in “chart” mode and couldn’t get out because the window was larger than my screen and had no scroll bars to allow me access to the “close” button.  I ended up having to quit out to escape.

Classroom Applications
There are several things that students would need to be taught before they could be set loose in the application.  Most of these are true of spreadsheets in general and are not specific to Google spreadsheet.   First, students need to understand the concept of working in columns and rows.  They need to taught cell referencing.  They also need to be instructed on how to create formulas and to realize that a cell contains a formula but displays a result.

Sharing
Sharing documents with other people (collaborators or viewers) is easily done by clicking on the “share” button on the upper right portion of the screen and selecting who to share the document with.  Document owners need to know the e-mail addresses of anyone they want to invite.  The owners retains the right to “unshare” the document later.

Applications in Science and Math
Spreadsheet could be used to create data tables for science labs. It does have an “import” feature which should allow data to be uploaded from digital probes.  It has the ability to make simple graphs.  I did not find a way to add trend lines or best fit curves; although these may be available as external gadgets.  Forms could be useful for creating live surveys and then analyzing the data using statistical tools like means and standard deviations.  Math classes could use it to graph functions, although it has far fewer capabilities than a graphing calculator.

Assisting Students with Collaboration
A teacher can help students collaborate by establishing teams so that students are not left to find partners on their own.  Every student will need to have a valid e-mail address, and computer access, in order to collaborate.  The teacher will need to demonstrate some basic features, like sharing and editing, as well as make the distinction between being a viewer and a collaborator.  The teacher also needs to explain etiquette for editing.  This will prevent students from deleting the work of their peers and will avoid locking up the application if multiple users edit the same material simultaneously.

Organizational Considerations
A primary consideration is providing access to computers and allowing students enough time to collaborate if their assignments extend beyond the class period. Students need to assign viewing privileges to the teacher so the teacher can review group submissions.  The teacher might also want to suggest that each student edit in a different color so that the teacher can assess individual contributions to the team project.  An alternative strategy would be to have individuals create documents that they only share with the teacher or submit as a blog entry.  Teachers should instruct students how to give files meaningful titles and how to manage a large number of files within Google Docs using folders.

Conclusion
Spreadsheet has some drawbacks but these are outweighed by the ability to collaborate.  I also get the sense that spreadsheet is a rapidly evolving application that will overcome many of its current limitations in short order.  The fact that the application is currently free is a huge incentive for schools to consider in a time of dwindling budgets.