LANGUAGE CENTER - STANFORD UNIVERSITY
As a Tool for Academic Writing
Introduction | Google in Responding | Google in Writing Tutorials | Google in Writing Classes
Writing Classes
There are a number of ways that Google can be integrated into writing class activities to support not only searching but language awareness and development. These include training students in using Google for editing and other purposes (see Google for Students), using Google to discuss language in sample papers, and using Google with students' own papers or excerpts from them for group feedback and commentary. In a lab setting, students can work individually or in pairs, depending on the availability of machines and the objective of a given exercise. The teacher can also use a single computer and data projector with the whole class and either maintain control and demonstrate or have students come up and take over the search. These whole class activities are particularly useful in helping students learn to identify search targets, develop effective searching strategies, and interpret results
In some of these activities, Google is being used in much the same way a concordance program would be, so if you are in a setting where a concordancer and appropriate corpus are available, it may be more effective to use these than Google for certain purposes. This is just a reminder that Google is a great tool but it's not always the best one for every job.
STUDENT TRAINING
The first step in student training is to run them through the content of the Google Basics part of this site. Depending on your students and your teaching approach, the material there may or may not be directly usable. You are welcome to adapt it (see Terms of Use) or develop your own materials for the same purpose.
DISCUSSING SAMPLE PAPERS
REVIEWING STUDENT PAPERS AND EXCERPTS