Module 2: Lesson 4: Technology Collaborative Tools in the Digital World

      The learners of this generation are a new kind of breed and it is important that teachers understand how to deal with them. They seem to thrive in collaborative learning. They like to connect to the social networking sites. Creating and producing something are what they prefer to do rather than become consumers of information inside the classroom. They like to be mobile either physically or virtually as they traverse from point to point or site to site. Apparently they seem to be investing a huge amount of their time in a digital social environment although they can be more self-directed in choosing what they want to learn, how they want to learn and they want to learn.

Technology as a Collaborative Tool

        One way to engage students is to give them a challenge and a chance to work together. Normally in a regular classroom, teachers may have discouraged students from conversing with classmates during individual work, but sometimes there are positive things that can come out of it as students talk about the task assigned to them or as they work themselves of a complicated task.

There are a lot of available tools and applications that can be used to work collaboratively with others. Some of these are skype, wikis, blog, google form, web conferencing, Realtimeboard, among others. You need to explore each application to be familiar with the features.

1.   Skype is a software application allowing you to do a videoconferencing for free. All you need is to create an account and can be used for a video meeting.

2.   Wiki is a software that allows you to create a page or a selection of pages designed to allow you to post or write, edit, or upload a link quickly. This is good when students need to work together to complete a task even if they are a presentation or surveying ideas from team members can be managed by a wikispace that efficiently allows one to document the contribution of each member in the team. Work can be extended virtually and asynchronously.

3.   Blogging is a journaling your ideas to which others can react allowing a thread of discussion to take place and which can be used online. It is the abbreviation of weblog. It would help if you provide direction when using a weblog.

a.   Use weblog with a clear instructional objective. It is an opportunity to explore the skill of communicating ideas. Like in a writing class, you can guide students on how to design the whole blog or upload materials and support students in developing critical communication.

b.   Guidance on what and how to post will be needed. Teach the students that the blogging is for educational purposes and is different from a personal blog. Proper or formal language variety should be used. A writing prompt would help to guide your students’ posts.

c.   With easy access to information, a major obligation is to teach the students to use multiple sources and to cite them appropriately.

d.   Writing about your ideas is a personal act but it is important that you are taught to make blogs personal without revealing too much personal information and too personal pictures. When writing blogs, you write your reflections but safeguarding yourself is also an important consideration.

e.   It may help if you can look for every good example of blogs. There are online and print publications that review blogs and you can use the information to guide you toward getting good models.

4.   Google Group or Google Form is an application that can be used in a collaborative documentation of ideas contributed by members of the team. Having a Google account will come very handy and you can easily have access to a variety of applications.
     
     Reflection:
     People nowadays are engaging with technology. We are more advanced in the use of technology as an instrument to communicate with each other. In this topic I learned what we have discussed about the technology as a collaborative tool. It is one way to communicate together as one. It is also important to know and how to use it as our daily communicative together. We can use these tools to work collaboratively with each other and explore each application to show more information about.

    Application:
     In this topic that we have discussed, as a future teacher I will teach them more effectively using these tools to communicate and work together. We know that technology is very important nowadays. I will apply this to my learners as their collaborative to chance them to work online. Because they more use for social networking site and using mobile phones. I will make them more knowledgeable and aware. I will also guide them when using technology as the part of their learning.