Cooperative Collaboration in the Hybrid Space of Google Docs Based Group Work

This study investigates how Google Docs is used and affects group work in classrooms. Inspired by networked learning theory and the concept of learning spaces in education theory, Google Docs group work is conceptualized as a hybrid learning space. Based on close video ethnographic examinations of group work sessions, the analysis focuses upon what the pupils actually do when combining oral and written communication, how the hybrid Google Docs space affects collaborative and cooperative activity, as well as the role of the group’s social context. Whereas Google Docs is often associated with collaboration, the findings in this study suggest: (1) that Google Docs in fact helps single group members to establish multimodal leadership to dominate the hybrid learning space of the group work settings; and (2) that Google Docs provides space for non-leaders to make cooperative contributions. This motivates a conceptual reassessment of collaboration and cooperation as working patterns before the paper ends with a discussion of potential pedagogical implications for the use of Google Docs in group work.