Academic Research in the 21st Century

Academic Research in the 21st Century

Using Google Tools in Research

Google has been helping researchers from all over the world since launching its robust search engine in 1998. However, after the disruptive revolution in technology in 2007, the company has greatly extended its service in the educational field with providing G Suite for Education (formerly called: Google Apps for Education).

Doing an Academic Research, therefore, is transformed and completely revamped to become smarter with current technological breakthroughs. Yet, our students can make huge benefits when integrating any of the following methods in their research.

1- Using “Advanced Search Tools” (can be reached at:http://www.google.com/advanced_search) by which the researcher is able to add different filters and narrow down the results based on: language, region, file format, date, etc. And of course, he shouldn’t fill out all the fields - just pick the fields of his interest.

2- Also using “Search Operators” in order to modify search results is of an extreme help to save lots of time for the researcher. They are symbols or words in your search to make your search results more precise.

Ex. Put - in front of a word you want to leave out. For example, jaguar speed -car

3- “Google Scholar” on the other hand, provides refined and more organized search results for the academic researcher whose plan is to conduct more than one search session (can be reached at: http://scholar.google.com ) . You can always save and cite in different formats (APA, MLA, Michigan, etc.). And your “Scholar Library” will be always ready to host your search results. One of the amazing features of this facility is that it can be set to track any new publications and send email notifications automatically.

4- Another great app made by Google is “Google Books”. Researchers can simply access to http://books.google.com and search for relevant books. Similarly, the student can tailor the results using filters from “tools” tab appears on the right side of the search page.

Most significantly, our students are free to read full books by modifying the search from Any View > Full View. See the picture below. And let them surf beyond our physical libraries ”for FREE”.

5- Another assisting feature is using the built-in “Explore” feature within a Google Doc (Cloud-Based Word Processor, alternative to Microsoft Word).

It brings Google Search potentials to document you are writing. So, you can easily search and cite right from the same window with a simple click.

6- “Google Keep” app (the mobile app or the web app) helps further in collecting data from physical books and send it directly to your research paper. You may see this short video https://youtu.be/Yn9Is2MWAbk made in Arabic to know how to use it perfectly in your research.

7- Another data collection tool is Google Forms (available at: http://forms.google.com ). Creating a Google Form as a survey in order to collect relevant data would save lots of time and effort rather doing the old pen and paper work. Students can either:-

• send the digital survey via email,
• or, as I suggest, use their personal tablet (replacing the old paper survey) to go around and collect relevant data.

Google has already linked any form created to their “Sheets” (alternative to Microsoft Excel). Thus, the researcher will be able to monitor survey or questionnaire results and also create charts and other analytical reports through few clicks.

8- However, presenting an Academic Paper may require more than just resources; it is always correctness and validation of your paper. There is a number of add-ons (additional features) recommended to add to your Google Docs, from the Add-ons tab. They are:-

• EasyBib: Academic Research Tool for different resources that avoid plagiarized sites. Students can cite in different styles to the research document directly.
• 
• ProWritingAid or SAS Writing Reviser: TWO Proofreading and revising tools for your document, with lots of advanced analytical features. Just use one of them to check your paper.
• Thesaurus Pro: Checking for alternative vocabulary (synonyms and antonyms) you can use.

9- For better organization of your research document, creating a Document Outline is beneficial for any researcher to easily move through different sections of the research.

10- Writefull Chrome Extension (https://writefullapp.com/) for Advanced Checker for language used in writing researches.

Integrating ELL’s 21st Century Skills Using Google Forms

G Suite for Education (formerly called Google Apps for Education) has been inspiring a lot of educators worldwide. Driven by the latest pedagogical frameworks (ex. SAMR pedagogical framework) that are shaping the 21st-century skills, Google Team has augmented their educational sources to meet both the teacher and the student's needs. 

One of Google's outstanding applications that are made freely accessible for all is Google Forms. Here is a list of some smart activities an English Language teacher can bring to his class. 

Suggested activities can be classified skill-wise as follow:-

1- For Reading:-
    a. Adventure Story - Innovated by Sylvia Duckworth, Google Certified Innovator

This activity aims at attracting ELL to reading through weaving adventures. First, the teacher selects a story theme that is culturally relevant. Second, he or she should cut down the story onto different segments. Each segment will have a prompt question of what the student thinks happening next. And of course, the educator should think of a tree of options, creating interchangeable links. All that should be designed in a document before implementation with Google Form.

In order to create the links in the form, the secret lies in "Go to section based on answer" option.

Click Here to try the form
b. Augmented Assessment with rich media text that sparks students' critical thinking skills.
Click here to see a Sample Reading Test

2- For Writing: assisting students with Auto-generated essay (5-Minute Essay Writing)
Click here to try it out

3- For Listening: Enriching pre-listening or post-listening activities with critical thinking tasks.
Check an Example Here

4- For Speaking:-
          a. Students recording their speeches and upload them using their smart gadgets. 

           b. Peer Evaluation
Another great feature that enhances students' critical thinking skills and collaboration is to design a form to evaluate their peer's presentations objectively. 

To do that, 

• first, start with designing a Form with possible feedback's questions.
• Second, send the form to your students. 
• During students' presentation, the presenter student writes a short link of his form to the attendance. 
• Audience students will be able to record their feedback upon their peers.
• Each student can easily review his friends' reviews from the Responses tab.

See an example here

5- For Class Project / Research: creating Smart Surveys that better deal with individuals' views.

Remember: It is YOU who can make technology smart, NOT the technology that turns you a smart teacher.

6- For most language skills: you can create Auto-Graded Assessment using the awesome Flubaroo addon.

If you access to the Google Sheet generated after publishing a Google Form, you can add "Flubaroo" from the addons tab. 

That small program works automatically every time a student submits answers to your Online Test. It compares his/her answers with the key answers you have entered earlier, calculate the score, and send a feedback email to the student with his answers and corrections immediately.

To know how it works, you can read instructions first at their official page here. And I am sure you love this great addon. 

By the way, Flubaroo was programmed by a group of students 💪- Not teachers. I think it's worth a mention.