EDCI 750: Emerging Technologies
Collaboration Sites Information Handout Kris Oswald & Amanda Graham
What is Online Collaboration? “Online collaboration lets a group of people work together in real-time over the Internet. Those engaged in online collaboration can work together on word processor documents, Power Point presentations and even for brainstorming, all without needing to be in the same room at the same time.” Warren, G. FAQs about online collaboration. About.com Mobile Office Technology. Retrieved from http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/conferencing-and-collaboration/a/online-collaboration-faqs.htm
Introduction: While we were searching for resources for this project, we concluded that it is more beneficial for teachers to select “multi-use” sites—sites that were not necessarily originally intended for collaboration, but that could be adapted for that purpose.
Basic Components: Key ways in which collaboration is encouraged between both students and teachers: Wikis and Blogs: Good for regular, frequent writing and posting information Discussion Groups & Communication: Use for conversations between members Help & Updates: Most useful for brief, as-needed posts Research, Note taking, & File sharing: Helpful for sharing topical information Group Projects & Papers: Sharing of tasks and editing/revision by many Task Management: Divide jobs and responsibilities between several individuals
Tips: Above all, consider your audience! Avoid using multiple sites because keeping up with the purpose of each site, the log-in information, etc. can become daunting! o
This is especially true for ELL students who first need to understand the language of each site before contributing to its content. Elementary and Secondary students may need to be taught guidelines of appropriate ways to collaborate before being allowed to work with their peers or public audience (visit http://tiny.cc/cciuh for sample guidelines). Teachers should keep in mind the security of their students and schools’ privacy policies. o Explain to students the importance of digital citizenship (visit http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html for guidelines).