Two years ago, friend and now newly minted school librarian Jim Randolph introduced me to Google Moderator, a terrific tool for crowdsourcing questions, comments, and ideas for a learning event. Participants in a workshop, training session, keynote, or presentation can submit their questions or feedback before, during, and after the event via traditional text or with a YouTube video. Participants can also vote on the questions or ideas they like best; consequently, the most popular questions move to the top of the moderation queue. These responses and questions can also be easily shared via email, Twitter, or Facebook. You can set up your series to allow a participant to submit questions anonymously (although he/she still must be logged into his/her Google account) or to identify himself/herself. If you are in a Google Apps for Education, Google Moderator is available for your use. You can even incorporate Google Moderator into your own YouTube Channel!
How are organizations, businesses, and government institutions using Google Moderator to crowdsource issues and to invite participation?
- The White House Answers Your Questions (post State of the Union Address, February 2010); you can also click on archives to see the questions/topics for discussion submitted by issue.
- Ask BP Hard Questions (today, July 1 at 3:30 PM EST)
- Ask the New York Times
- The Virgin America Toronto Provocateur
- Google and New America Foundation July 2009: Submit Your Ideas for a National Broadband Plan
So what might Google Moderator look like in a training or workshop environment? Wesley Fyer used Google Moderator to encourage participants in “Digital Magic Tricks” workshop to vote on topics they wanted to explore in the session.
Last fall and then again this past January, I used Google Moderator as a “parking lot” for questions before, during, and after a virtual presentation to Dr. Lisa Tripp’s Florida State University 5313 students. This was a great springboard for discussion during the presentation; I also liked that I could respond with a text response to questions as a follow-up even if the question was discussed during the virtual session.
I also like using Google Moderator as a “parking lot” not only for questions, but for people to share resources, ideas, and inspirations to inform our conversations and tap into the collective intelligence in the room. This Google Moderator series I used to support a recent workshop encouraged crowdsourcing our conversations about tools for participatory learning, tools for networked learning and content creation, tools for transliteracy, and tools for transparency, advocacy, and leadership. Again, the option of responding to questions within this forum or simply using the questions as a springboard for group discussion gives you flexibility in creating and continuing conversations about learning.
I think it is also exciting to consider how your library program can use Google Moderator for formal learning experiences or to invite conversations from library patrons. You could also use Google Moderator to tap into the wisdom of your library community on a particular topic just as Google has done with the Google Tip Jar. I am planning on creating a series to incorporate into my LibGuides home page as well as my library website home page this fall; in addition, I plan to incorporate Google Moderator to invite participation, questions, and knowledge building through my research pathfinders/subject guides.
Here are some helpful resources to help you get started and to explore the possibilities of Google Moderator:
- Getting Started: Google Moderator Help Page
- Embedding Google Moderator On Your Web Page
- Google Moderator Help, Bugs, and Feature Requests
- My Google Moderator Bookmarks
You will also want to check out this seven and a half minute video that provides a simple yet helpful overview of Google Moderator features.
How might you use Google Moderator for your next training session, unconference, formal presentation, or in your library program?
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