In what ways do you feel your teaching has been transformed through the use of technology for collaboration?
“I have always been a ‘techie.’ Attending a recent conference on Web 2.0 Tools opened a whole new world to me, a world that most of my students have already been visiting regularly. The Web that our students use everyday is the ultimate in collaborative technology with many wonderful, compelling teaching and learning opportunities. Our students are used to the Web being a two-way medium, while most of us are still using it in one dimension in the classroom. In 2003 there were no blogs, wikis, twitters, or social networking sites, and now there are over 71 billion! Seventy-five percent of all the information on the Web is peer-to-peer sharing--even the family photo album is being shared on the Web! What are we waiting for?
Teachers need to harness our students’ enthusiasm for these tools and teach them to use them properly in order prepare our students for the 21st Century. According the Partnership for 21st Century Skills a partnership of impressive education, business, community and government leaders, collaboration will be one of the key skills our students need to succeed, second only to a strong work ethic. Our students not only want to collaborate, but they will need to learn the pitfalls and power of collaboration including interpersonal and self-direction skills, accountability, adaptability, and social responsibility to succeed in the future. Using collaborative technologies is a natural way to get our students engaged and participating in their own education.
In what ways do you feel that it is important that students understand the role of collaboration, digital, or otherwise, in their learning?
“What were they thinking?” is too often the response we have when we hear of some of the choices that kids make. Our middle school and high school students make life-altering choices everyday. The Tregoe Education Forum has developed the interactive website, www.yourtake.org to capitalize on our children’s skills and enthusiasm for online communication while teaching them valuable critical thinking skills (sort of like getting kids to eat healthy by sneaking vegetables into the foods they already like!). Teaching our students to engage in thinking processes can help them consider different perspectives, assess priorities, and avoid disaster!
My students and I were very excited to be part of the development of the collaborative site because they loved using an interactive tool that was both collaborative and engaging. The site teaches students a powerful process (using the acronym SCAN for the four steps) for looking at complex problems in an interactive process. Students readily participate in meaningful conversations on historical and current issues using scenarios and role-playing and use a collaborative approach for seeing, understanding and addressing tough situations by working through a guided process called, SCAN.
According to http://www.classroom20.com we have entered the “age of engagement.” Students who may have balked at writing a paragraph on the difficulties of group work were happy to write their opinions on the blog, another feature of the site. It features current topics which affect our students. It is a protected venue (students’ identities are protected by screen names and all writing in the blog is screened by the moderator). Using a blog for conversations, rather than personal journals is another way to get students collaborating on current issues teaching them social and civic responsibility, persuasive writing as well as keeping them informed on relevant current issues with links to other sites on the Web. The use of screen names on the Web can offer students the anonymity they need to encourage them to “speak their minds” on issues that they may not have felt comfortable in conversation.
What guidance would you give teacher who are trying to create a more collaborative and technology infused classroom?
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to using collaborative Web 2.0 tools is safety concerns. I would recommend that teachers start at a site like http://www.classroom20.com or http://Webtoolsforeducators.pbwiki.com, sites that teachers use to collaborate to make their teaching more effective. There you can learn about sites and activities that offer teachers opportunities to create their own learning/sharing communities within their classes or school. There is also plenty of research supporting advancing collaborative skills in the classroom to help you convince decision makers that these sites should perhaps be “unblocked” if necessary.
We need to give our students the tools to be critical thinkers and problem solvers in a complex and diverse world. Collaboration is one of those tools.
A few of my students sum up the power of collaboration:
“Have everyone talk about what they want. Then say what you think is most important. Add all the ideas together in one super idea.” --Robert
“Students can share ideas from different points of view and use that knowledge to create a better working environment.” --Jacob
“Working together is more important than arguing all the time not getting anything done.” --Jesse
