A First Test of Google Wave
Mo Tanweer and I got stuck into Google Wave tonight and I think we found the experience really exciting from a teaching perspective.
In little over an hour we made big progress in developing a fresh set of teaching notes on the issue of nationalisation. I chose the initial topic (it ties in with my teaching this week) and Mo has chosen trade deficits as our second wave topic. We started by adding in examples of state-owned enterprises both here in the UK and from overseas (often more exciting and interesting for discussion) before editing some notes on arguments for and against nationalisation.
The real time collaborative messaging system is easy to grasp and use. Within sixty minutes we generated many more ideas than had we worked at it alone - and it is thrilling and awesome to be able to edit each other’s points, add examples, embed video into waves, add other links and chat live. Imagine the whole department using this to come up with a worksheet on a tricky topic - you’d be able to do it in 1/4 of the time and come away with a real sense of a team effort in drafting, shaping and pulling a document together.
Google has thrown open the source code so expect a wealth of apps to be developed in the next 6 months as Google Wave hits the ground running when it comes out of preview mode. Mo reckons this could work really well when editing / commenting on UCAS statements or essays with kids when they are at home! Online revision takes on a new dimension with Google Wave. We think a critical mass of perhaps four or five contributors at any one time works well - but perhaps we are underestimating the capacity of students to embrace this type of collaborative software - instant messaging on steroids!
Google Wave invites seem to be thin on the ground at the moment, but if there are other economics teachers out there with access, we would love to hear from you and invite you to join in a few waves! Come on in, the water is lovely.
Google Wave - Next Steps on Collaborative Learning?
Rory Cellan-Jones reports from Google HQ in London on the development of Google Wave - a tool “that really needs s network effect for it to take-off.” Google Wave combines email and instant messages, enabling several users to edit documents in real time online. Google markets Wave as a combination between conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. What e-learning possibilities are there here for economics students and teachers?
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