Collaborative Technology

          Some students start to sweat at the mere mention of group work.  Shy, intimidated by my own shadow and quiet in middle school; I was one of those students.  I am happy to say that I have since overcome the insecurities of a 7^th grader and am comfortably at ease in the adult world; working alongside co-workers to solve problems and being creative on how to stay positive around the “vampires” (those who suck out all light and joy from teaching) in life. 

            Student collaboration is a strong tool to be used in a 21^st century classroom.  I am often surprised at the amount of information some of my students bring to the table and what they are able to teach their peers and even myself!  Where some students prefer to work on their own others thrive in a group environment.  I believe it is important that all students are made to work together from time to time – it is one of the greatest preparations for life outside of the public school system.  Not only are they working towards a curricular goal, but they must learn to work together, brainstorm, and collaborate effectively.  I really liked the Epals Global Community (http://www.epals.com/) that I came across in our resources for this week.  It is a free and easy way for students around the world to connect with one another.  I believe the opportunity to work with students from different parts of the world might remove some of the fear and stress that is often associated with typical group collaboration.  Students have a chance not only to work with someone that they have no negative history with, but to build a new friendship in a safe learning environment.  I believe in utilizing online collaborative technology – such as wikis, it is also much easier for the teacher to determine who is doing the work.  I can recall a time where a pretentious classmate in high school told myself and another girl, “Don’t worry about doing anything, I’m taking care of it all” as if we would have infected the project somehow.  Using the login features on wiki pages, teachers can tell exactly what each student posts and how often they are participating.  Individual as well as group tasks can be posted.  There is also an opportunity for students to evaluate one another accurately – having the chance to look back and see the effort group members put into the wiki.   

            The lesson plan I created this week used Epals to locate a foreign classroom of a similar age to pair my students with a partner.  The goal of this project would be to discuss, compare and contrast differing government systems from around the world by interacting through a wiki.  This project allows for students to build a friendship while they are deepening their understanding and learning.  I have always believed and feel there is great proof of the fact that when you are able to teach someone something, you understand it even better yourself.  It is my hope that in “teaching” their foreign peer, my students will have an even greater understanding and appreciation for how our own government functions.   

            Membership through Epals is free and can be joined through the website provided above.  Teachers and students can join for free.  Students 13 or younger must have parental permission before they create their own account – this could be something presented and discussed at Conferences or through a class newsletter.  There are several wiki sites that are free to join and very easy to maintain: wikispaces.com, wikidot.com, pbworks.com and many more.  I would select one of these sites myself as I am familiar with each and feel students would have an easy time of using them.  I am hoping to implement the use of Epals as well as getting my students comfortable with collaborating through wiki pages this fall!