Online Collaborative Writing via Google Docs: Case Studies in the EFL Classroom

Abstract

This article reported a case study investigating small group interaction patterns in online collaborative writing tasks and factors influencing team collaborations. Participants included six Asian EFL university students who formed two small groups and were engaged in two online collaborative writing tasks via Google Docs. Data collection included the participants’ use of writing change functions and language functions during the collaborative writing processes revealed through Google Docs archives and collaborative essays. Semi-structured interviews were employed to examine factors influencing small group collaborations. The findings revealed that the two teams exhibited divergent interaction patterns, but the patterns of interaction remained consistent within each group across both tasks. The qualitative content analysis showed factors that affected team collaborations were individual goals, learners’ English proficiency, individual roles, and the use of collaborative agency. The findings may help elucidate the divergence of online collaborative writing and provide insightful information for instructors to design collaborative writing activities and assist EFL learners in the co-construction of writing tasks.

Modeling of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Collaborative Dispatching System of Railway Passenger Transport Hub Based on Neural Network Algorithm

“…It has the functions of self-organization, selfadaptive, and self-learning. In recent years, the fuzzy neural network generated by the cross synthesis of fuzzy control and neural network has become a research hotspot and has been widely used in the field of modeling and control of complex industrial objects [13]. The fuzzy logic rules and membership function in the fuzzy inference system are adjusted by neural network self-learning, which solves the problems of lack of self-learning ability of fuzzy rules and low control accuracy in the fuzzy control system.…”

The Needs Analysis of ESL Learners’ Expository Writing Challenges: Perspectives of ESL Teachers

“…Having been exposed to abundant of research on the challenges faced among ESL learners in mastering English writing using several composition genres, the direct use of exposition, specifically, was still scarce (Kitjaroonchai & Suppasetseree, 2021). Thus, this paper intends to fill the gap by looking at the problems faced by ESL learners in writing expository essays, which give a comprehensive understanding of the challenges so that it would help in tailoring writing interventions to meet the needs of ESL learners in enhancing their expository writing abilities.…”

EFL female students’ perceptions in doing collaborative writing in an online writing class

“…Many researchers have indicated positive perceptions of the students and various effects of collaborative writing in the learning process. These positive perceptions and outcomes were informed by studies conducted in Saudi Arabia (Alkhalaf, 2020;Abahussain, 2020), Vietnam (Nguyen & Trinh, 2021;Pham, 2021), Indonesia (Anggraini et al, 2020;Aulia & Zulfikar, 2020;Cahyono & Winarti, 2020;Emzir et al, 2020;Murtiningsih, 2016), United Arab Emirates (Deveci, 2018), Iran (Khodabakhshzadeh & Samadi, 2018), Thailand (Coffin, 2020;Kitjaroonchai & Suppasetseree, 2021), China (Du, 2018), and Palestine (Farrah, 2015).…”

“…In a study by Coffin (2020) on teachers' and students' perspectives on implementing collaborative writing in EFL classrooms in Thailand, collaborative writing practice had positively affected communication, problem-solving skills, and teamwork. Besides, a survey by Kitjaroonchai and Suppasetseree (2021) showed that online collaborations had helped students in an international university in Thailand shape their interaction patterns, language proficiency, behavior, and cooperativeness. In a case study of students' perceptions about language improvement and collaborative writing products conducted with 69 students in China, Du (2018) reported that collaborative writing had helped the students improved their writing.…”