Why Notion May Not Be the Best Collaboration Tool for Comments and Evaluation
Collaboration tools have become an essential part of educational environments, allowing students and teachers to communicate, evaluate, and improve their work efficiently. Among these tools, Notion has gained popularity due to its flexibility and multifunctional design. However, despite its advantages, I think Notion may not be the best choice for commenting and evaluation in an academic setting. In this post I will discuss some drawbacks of Notion in the context of my experience with using Notion for group work.
1. Not helpful for student communication
Notion is not particularly helpful for student communication while working because it lacks real-time interaction features. Unlike other collaboration tools that offer instant messaging, discussion threads, or video/audio calls, Notion primarily focuses on document organization and note-taking. As it does not have an integrated chat function like Slack or Microsoft Teams, we had to rely on external messaging apps to discuss their work, which disrupted the workflow.
(If we want to communicate with each other, we have to chat in another document)
2. Limited Notification System
Effective collaboration relies on timely responses and updates. Notion’s notification system is not always intuitive or reliable, which can result in missed comments and delayed interactions. This can be frustrating for both students and teachers who rely on timely feedback.
3. Overwhelming Interface for Students
Notion’s interface, while customizable, can be overwhelming for students who are not tech-savvy. The flexibility of the tool often leads to disorganization, making it difficult to track evaluations and comments efficiently. In contrast, platforms like Google Docs provide a more straightforward and intuitive commenting system.
(It is so difficult! ðŸ˜)
4. Limited Permissions and Access Control
Notion's permission settings can be complicated when dealing with multiple users. While collaboration is possible, managing different access levels (such as allowing students to comment but not edit) is not as seamless as in other tools like Microsoft Teams.
(It will cost if I want to give other users extra permission)
Would I Use Notion With My Students?
Given these limitations, I would not recommend Notion as the primary tool for commenting and evaluation in an academic setting. While it is a great tool for organizing information and taking collaborative notes, it lacks the necessary features for structured feedback and efficient communication.
Is there a better alternative? 🤔
Instead of Notion, I would opt for Google Docs for comments and evaluation. It offers:
- Real-time commenting and suggestion mode
- Email notifications for updates
- Seamless integration with Google Classroom for assignment tracking
For instance, in a Google Docs environment, teachers can highlight text, leave comments with action items, and track revisions easily. This fosters a more interactive and structured feedback loop, which is crucial for student progress.
Conclusion
While Notion is a powerful tool for organizing knowledge, it does not provide an optimal experience for feedback and evaluation. Educators should consider more specialized collaboration tools that offer clearer, more efficient ways to communicate and assess student work.
Hello, what a lovely blog and creative ideas but I suggest if you add photos
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of Notion’s limitations for academic feedback is spot-on! Notion’s flexibility and clean design are undeniably appealing for organizing resources or brainstorming projects, making it a hit for personal workflows. However, as you’ve highlighted, its weaknesses shine through in structured educational settings.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Notion isn’t entirely hopeless for classrooms. With templates, teachers could create standardized feedback forms or grade trackers to mimic LMS features.I agree with Mashael, why not add some pictures in the post to help readers understand, if there are some pictures or videos to help demonstrate, your conclusion will be more intuitive. Overall, your critique is sharp and actionable. I like the straight style of the post.
Hi
ReplyDeleteI just want to add that your blog gives a clear and honest review of Notion's limitations for academic use, which is really helpful. I liked how you broke it down into points. To improve it more maybe you could add a short comparison table between Notion and Google Docs to visually highlight the differences.
This is a very detailed blog analysing the reasons why Notion is not suitable for classroom use. I agree with the reasons you listed, which are well reasoned. In addition, you have provided Google Docs as an alternative product to improve the quality of teaching, which makes up for the shortcomings of Notion and solves the problems brought by Notion to a certain extent. One suggestion I would like to make is that, as a review blog, the article lacks the description of Notion's advantages and basically focuses on its disadvantages, which is not conducive to the readers' overall understanding of Notion and is not objective enough. In addition, the introduction of alternative products is short and brief, which is not conducive to the reader to make detailed comparisons.
ReplyDelete