Collaboration

Collaboration Collaboration is working together, exchanging ideas, thoughts, working together and giving feedback to eachother (or the group) in order to reach a goal, complete an assignment, produce a product or solve a problem. Students collaborate when they do a jigsaw -I like to do these when there is a large amount of text that needs to be read, but students just need to get the general, main ideas of the information. They work together in their expert groups to get the main points, vocabulary and main ideas down in order to share them when the groups get all mixed with one person from each expert group. This is successful most of the time, especially if I monitor and give feedback as they are working in both sets of groups. Another way students collaborate is during group projects. I had my A&P students do a group project first quarter that involved research and a presentation. They were able to work a few days in class to get going, but then it was up to them to collaborate to get the work done. Many emailed power points back and forth and edited and updated the work, I also had one group use a wiki to do their presentation which also worked very well. A third way my students collaborate in class is when they do a read/think/pair-share and this is successful if the students genuinely listen to their partner and share their information, I have to remind students that they have to acutally TALK to share their information, that is not merely an exchange of papers to see what the other person "got" that he or she did not.

Piratepad

I can see using Pirate Pad when students are working on a group project, either in class or outside of class. Or, students could use this resource as a "help-site" or place to ask questions and get help from each other. I can see that using a chat or discussion board as a time-convenience, students can work when it is best for them. And, as a teacher, being able to see the history of the Pirate Pad is a nice way to keep an eye on the students, to make sure that thay are being fair and following the rules of posting to a resource like this. A disadvantage would be if a resource did not give the teacher a way to track all of the posts, and with asking students to use any technology source, some students have a lot of access to technology at home and others do not.
 * How can Pirate Pad be used by Students?
 * What strengths and weaknesses do discussion boards and chatting have as an effective method of online communication?

7.2 I think that with different technology modalities, that students will be able, on their own, to go deeper on topics that are important or of interest to them as well as "wider" to answer questions they may have as they explore curricula topics or to take the reins and take some more responsibility for their own learning. I would like to be able to go beyond the "MCAS requirments" but always feel the time contraints and would love to get deeper in some topics or to bring in more everyday connections into the topic areas and maybe more technology will allow students to get more information beyond what I can get into them during regular class meetings. 2. What is the difference between cooperation and collaboration? Cooperation is when students work in a group to get something done, or to an end point of an assignment. Students are going to get to that end point and reach the conclusions regardless of who is in their group or how much effort each person puts forth. I feel that collaboration is more connected to problem solving and each person that is working together is more responsible for their contributions, as the product or the results are dependent on the group as a whole. 3. What are the challenges in getting students to collaborate rather than just cooperating? Students need to be pushed out of a comfort zone, so many are just seeking the right answer versus seeking information that is important to them for life, not just for the next test or quiz. I feel that giving students a problem to solve, or research to interpret in a collaborative manner instead of cooperative group setting that they will struggle and will push back but it is my job to keep asking them to work in different ways, to not just look for the answer and get it on paper. Voicethread The Voicethread application is interesting way for people to give feedback on a variety of pieces of work. I like that you can interact in a way in which you are most comfortable, talking, video or by typing a response, and I am guessing, responses can be contributed at any time. As I was watching the demonstration some thoughts of how to use this in my classroom with biology students came to mind. Data analysis could be done on a voice thread if given a graph or data table to look at as the image, or images of projects can be posted and students can give feedback to each other as part of the process.
 * 1) How can expanded use of technology help develop depth and breadth for our students?

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