Classes Collaborating Through Google Wave

August 31, 2010 - 3:10pm | by rtbrown
Presenter(s)
Josiah Alamu (University of Illinois Springfield, US)
Ray Schroeder (University of Illinois at Springfield, US)
Session Information
November 5, 2010 - 11:55am
Track: 
Technology and Emerging Learning Environments
Areas of Special Interest: 
Open Educational Resources
Major Emphasis of Presentation: 
Practical Application
Institutional Level: 
Multiple Levels
Session Type: 
Individual Presentation
Location: 
Bonaire 7
Session Duration: 
35
Concurrent Session: 
8
Abstract
Google Wave, a new technology tool developed by the Google, provides user opportunities to communicate and work on a group project with richly formatted text, photos, videos, etc. We evaluated this tool in one of our online classes for a synchronous discussion and found it to be effective and engaging.
Extended Abstract
Professors Josiah Alamu and Ray Schroeder have integrated Google Wave for collaborating in their online classes. In one instance Dr. Alamu used Wave weekly for synchronous discussions (which of course are also available asynchronously after the fact) in chronic and infectious disease epidemiology online class. In other instances, Dr. Schroeder used Wave to link a University of Illnios Springfield class with one at the Institute of Technology in Sligo Ireland. Our experiences in both instances suggest that Wave could be a powerful technology for enriching discussions among students and faculty. Much will be shared about emerging effective practices in using Google Wave.