Education - Collaboration - Technology

How can technology enhance collaborative learning between teachers and teacher, teachers and students, and students and students?

One thing that I have really learned from this program and being in the educational environment is how busy teachers are. Like, really, really, busy. There are so many people to talk to – specialists, parents, colleagues – but time is precious! Our time should be spent with students. The use of technology can broaden this communication if done properly. Colleagues can share online calendars (such as Google’s), use chat, and, of course, the “oldie but goodie,” e-mail.

The potential out there is huge. And what is significant is that so many of the collaborative applications available online are free! AND they work. I think about the potential that teachers could have with parents with regard to this communication and, at times collaboration. Dropbox, another free application online, gives teachers the potential to share their students’ work with parents in a quick manner. It is a way that lessons and goals can easily be emphasized and a way to share strategies that could used at home with regard to reading or writing or math.

Below I have listed three websites for collaborative technology that could be very useful for educators -- whether among fellow educators, students, or parents – there is enormous potential in some of these new applications. I would like to note, first, however, that there always needs to be a variety of ways to collaborate and we must take into account individual circumstances. For example, as teachers, before we can communicate via e-mail, blogs, dropbox etc. with parents, we must know whether parents have this technology available to them. The key is to have open and positive communication – this means having a means to share the necessary information with parents in a variety of ways if necessary.

Dropbox:

This is an impressive application for collaboration. Dropbox allows individuals to share large amounts of information between computers – whether that it is between your home computer and your phone, your colleagues or you family. I find this to have huge potential. As teachers this allows us to collaborate amongst each others and share large documents without filling up precious email space. My host teacher and I plan to share a dropbox so we can share such things as the weekly newsletter, reading responses, and lesson plans – without having to email these particular documents back and forth. Everything is available. I think that this could also have huge potential for parent and teacher communication as well. Being able to store evidence of student work and growth, photos, art, and even video could be an effective way to involve parents in their children’s educational lives – even if their demanding work schedule doesn’t allow them to be in classroom on a regular basis. The potential for collaboration with this tool is very big.

Google Apps:

I am constantly amazed with Google – maybe I’m a little biased. But Google apps is made for collaboration. What I am impressed with is how easy it is to use and that all of your work is connected: your e-mail, your calendar, your docs, your chat – it’s all right there. What is more, for collaboration this can be key. Google docs allows for collaboration among colleagues – working on collaborative lessons for example. You can share your calendar with colleagues or the school. For example, at Harborview, Tom McKenna set up a google calendar that would allow teachers to reserve the computer lab. It gives people the autonomy to take their schedule into their own hand, while working collaboratively on projects. The same can go with our collaboration with parents and with our students.

Twiducate:

At the Alaska State Literacy Conference I had the opportunity to attend a seminar on i-pod applications used for educational purposes – specifically literacy. I was especially interested, and surprised by, the use of Twitter as a use for literacy. One of the suggestions for Twitter was for the use of student collaboration. For example, students can use Twitter to create a story collaboratively – each individual adding to it. I found this interesting, however the issue of privacy and distractibility of students is a valid concern. Learning about Twiducate is a viable alternative to Twitter for schools. Created by teachers for the classroom, Twiducate allows students to communicate with each other, their teacher, and even other schools. It allows a teacher to share information with their students and with colleagues – all through a “private social network.” Children’s privacy is a large priority and the aim is educational.

References:

Alman, Jennifer. (2011). Twiducate. Retrieved from: http://www.twiducate.com

Dropbox. (2011). Dropbox. Retrieved from: http://www.dropbox.com/

Google. (2011). Google Apps for Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/edu/

Lieghtonimages. (2009, February 5). Using Google Apps in Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Leuvce3v5BM&NR=1