Collaboration and Online Tools:
There are many 21st Century online tools that can be used to create collaborative experiences online. The following section discusses those online tools in more depth.
Blogs, Wikis, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Scoop it, Sliderocket, Dropbox, Blackboard,Pinterest, Skype the list can go on and on. All of these online sites are designed specifically for interactions between individuals in the digital world. They run on the contributions by others and are successful only because of the collaborative services which they provide connecting individuals based on common interests. These individuals come together to socialize and to construct and scaffold knowledge. In the educational sphere, online technologies provide students with the ability to collaborate with others in their class on their own time and in their own space. In this program we are required to collaborate with our classmates in a multitude of ways. However, initially it is through Adobe Connect in our virtual classroom. Webcams coupled with microphones and chatboxes with adds additional content, creates an atmosphere of interaction where knowledge is constructed through the participation of the class.
Online technologies provide many opportunities for interaction and collaboration. Creating opportunities to connect is especially important when working in an asynchronous environment. Online technologies "can create learning and discourse communities that not only lessen student isolation but increase reflection "(Melkun, 2012, p.38). Some examples, of these online programs are: Blogging and Wiki's.
Blogging as a Collaborative Practice:
I have used Blogs extensively in my online studies with UOIT. They are essentially online, interactive diaries. They can be both simple and complex depending on the user and what they add to their blog (Davies & Merchant, 2007). They allow for audience feedback in the form of comments on posts and can be used effectively for educational purposes. However, the drawback of a blog is that it is somewhat dependent on the audience in the sense that without an audience a blogger can lose interest and stop writing. The comments feed the blogger and posts feed the comments.
Of course, in an educational setting parameters can be put into place so that each blog is responded to at one point or another, thus creating the collaboration amongst learners.These parameters can be set up through assignment expectations and agreements between the teacher and students, thus continuously ensuring safety in sharing. Please see my artifacts section for an example how a blog can be used to promote collaboration.
Wikis as a Collaborative Tool:
Wikis are essentially online databases. Wiki's are created for a specific purpose and are constructed through the contributions of students and or groups. The purpose of which is to provide information about specific terms, ideas, and theories that are useful to the class. I have used Wikis in a number of my classes. As a collaborative tool it does fit most of the criteria in that it thrives on the contributions of others and produces a product ( the Wiki page). As well, one can comment on the Wiki contributions and even edit it for discrepancies. This is different from a blog where only the blogger can produce the content generated - posts. In a wiki everyone is the producer of the information and therefore has access to all the posts.
As a classroom tool for collaboration Wikis have a lot of benefits 1) It can be made private so that only the individuals who are invited to the Wiki can have access 2) It is created for a specific purpose and the pages can be divided for further subject specificity 3) it can be used as a study guide in the future, provided it is not taken down. 4) It can also be used to encourage feedback. The Wiki allows for content to be easily accessible and can be used to facilitate a student generated collaborative experience. These are but a few examples of online technology tools that encourage collaboration. For the most part, programs that promotes social interactions would probably be useful for collaborative purposes.
Please my artifacts section for examples of Collaboration using online technology.
Blogs, Wikis, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Scoop it, Sliderocket, Dropbox, Blackboard,Pinterest, Skype the list can go on and on. All of these online sites are designed specifically for interactions between individuals in the digital world. They run on the contributions by others and are successful only because of the collaborative services which they provide connecting individuals based on common interests. These individuals come together to socialize and to construct and scaffold knowledge. In the educational sphere, online technologies provide students with the ability to collaborate with others in their class on their own time and in their own space. In this program we are required to collaborate with our classmates in a multitude of ways. However, initially it is through Adobe Connect in our virtual classroom. Webcams coupled with microphones and chatboxes with adds additional content, creates an atmosphere of interaction where knowledge is constructed through the participation of the class.
Online technologies provide many opportunities for interaction and collaboration. Creating opportunities to connect is especially important when working in an asynchronous environment. Online technologies "can create learning and discourse communities that not only lessen student isolation but increase reflection "(Melkun, 2012, p.38). Some examples, of these online programs are: Blogging and Wiki's.
Blogging as a Collaborative Practice:
I have used Blogs extensively in my online studies with UOIT. They are essentially online, interactive diaries. They can be both simple and complex depending on the user and what they add to their blog (Davies & Merchant, 2007). They allow for audience feedback in the form of comments on posts and can be used effectively for educational purposes. However, the drawback of a blog is that it is somewhat dependent on the audience in the sense that without an audience a blogger can lose interest and stop writing. The comments feed the blogger and posts feed the comments.
Of course, in an educational setting parameters can be put into place so that each blog is responded to at one point or another, thus creating the collaboration amongst learners.These parameters can be set up through assignment expectations and agreements between the teacher and students, thus continuously ensuring safety in sharing. Please see my artifacts section for an example how a blog can be used to promote collaboration.
Wikis as a Collaborative Tool:
Wikis are essentially online databases. Wiki's are created for a specific purpose and are constructed through the contributions of students and or groups. The purpose of which is to provide information about specific terms, ideas, and theories that are useful to the class. I have used Wikis in a number of my classes. As a collaborative tool it does fit most of the criteria in that it thrives on the contributions of others and produces a product ( the Wiki page). As well, one can comment on the Wiki contributions and even edit it for discrepancies. This is different from a blog where only the blogger can produce the content generated - posts. In a wiki everyone is the producer of the information and therefore has access to all the posts.
As a classroom tool for collaboration Wikis have a lot of benefits 1) It can be made private so that only the individuals who are invited to the Wiki can have access 2) It is created for a specific purpose and the pages can be divided for further subject specificity 3) it can be used as a study guide in the future, provided it is not taken down. 4) It can also be used to encourage feedback. The Wiki allows for content to be easily accessible and can be used to facilitate a student generated collaborative experience. These are but a few examples of online technology tools that encourage collaboration. For the most part, programs that promotes social interactions would probably be useful for collaborative purposes.
Please my artifacts section for examples of Collaboration using online technology.