If you dropped by recently, you’ll notice that we’ve been using Google Docs (Google Apps for Education) to enhance the writing process. (For more, select the category – Literacy – Writing Process.) And we’ve had amazing results. Now Google Docs has “upped the bar” and added an integrated research feature.
HOW IT WORKS
In Docs, let’s say you wrote your beginning topic sentence, highlighting the word or words you wish to gather more information.
Right click and choose “Research…”. A research toolbar opens to the right side where you can select (click on the google icon) articles, images, or quotes on the topic.
You now have a flexible way of reading and inserting what you need in order to support your research questions. Moreover, Google Docs will automatically footnote (APA) the source for you. This allows you an integrated way to collect information from a variety of sources and collate them in one document. This could be a great organizational tool for refining research notes. MMhhh…perhaps now the question might include how do you critically analyze the validity or the bias of the information?
How are you using Google Docs?