Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2018

Instructional Design for Online Learning Environments and the Problem of Collaboration in the Cloud

Brad Mehlenbacher North Carolina State University ; Ashley Rose Kelly University of Waterloo ; Christopher Kampe North Carolina State University ; Meagan Kittle Autry North Carolina State University

Abstract

To investigate how college students understand and use cloud technology for collaborative writing, the authors studied two asynchronous online courses, on science communication and on technical communication. Students worked on a group assignment (3–4 per group) using Google Docs and individually reflected on their experience writing collaboratively. This article explores leadership and how it interacts with team knowledge making and the collaborative writing process. Guidelines are outlined for instructors interested in adopting collaborative, cloud-based assignments, and the tension between providing clear instructional guidance for student teams and allowing teams to embrace the ambiguity and messiness of virtual collaboration are discussed.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2018-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281616679112
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality online writing instruction technical communication scientific writing race and writing multilingual writers

Citation Context

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    Examining Multimodal Community-Engaged Projects for Technical and Professional …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

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