Making Connections - Activity 5

Considering Web-based Collaborative Learning

  30 minutes

Several online tools can be used by teachers to help learners work together on projects. You previously experienced three of these free tools—blogs, wikis, and online collaborative websites.

Learners can use web-based collaborative learning tools to:

  • Share their thoughts, ideas, and projects with others
  • Share links to websites
  • Solicit and respond to others' thoughts
  • Modify, add to, and delete others' content
  • Create multilayered websites
  • Create linear, journal-like documents

Review the benefits and drawbacks of each resource in Web-based Collaborative Learning and then use an online collaborative website to discuss how you will use Internet tools to support learner communication and collaboration in your teaching.

Use this chart to compare the skill and technical requirements and the purposes for which these online collaborative websites can be used.

Now that you have explored communication and collaboration online tools, record your ideas in an online collaborative spreadsheet.

  1. Find the system-generated e-mail that was sent to you from the Online Collaborative website inviting you to collaborate on the document titled Using_Web 2.0_Tools.

  2. Click the link in the e-mail to access the spreadsheet. Log on to the site using your e-mail and password, which should be in your Login Information document.

  3. Open the spreadsheet titled Using_Web 2.0_Tools on the website.
    Optional: You can also access the spreadsheet by going to the online collaborative website, logging on, and selecting the spreadsheet titled Using_Web 2.0_Tools.

  4. Think about how you could use one communication tool and one collaboration tool in your classroom. On each of the worksheets, start a new row with your name, add the name of the tool, and then describe how you could use it in your classroom. Complete at least one row for the communication tools worksheet and one row for the collaboration tools worksheet.

Note Note: You have an opportunity to plan how you will use communication and
collaboration tools to meet the learning goals and objectives of your project in the
upcoming Planning Ahead activity.

 

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