Friday, April 2, 2010
Collaboration
Collaboration in D.E. has transformed the way that people are able to communicate in D.E. today. Tools like wiki and blogging allow students in D.E. to share work, ideas, and insight with one another. Thinking back to face to face classes there was a great deal of lecture from the instructor and then students were mostly on their own to figure out assignments and complete projects. The collaboration that is involved in D.E. allows people who are in the same or similar fields to share ideas that not too many years ago you could only share with people that worked directly with you. Not only through D.E. am I sharing ideas for my courses, but I am also learning new ideas and technologies from people all around the world.
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I agree with your statement, “ Thinking back to face to face classes there was a great deal of lecture from the instructor and then students were mostly on their own to figure out assignments and complete projects.” Some universities do require group projects for each F2F course; however there appears to be more collaboration among students in D.E. courses. So much can be gained from collaborating with other learners nationally and internationally.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelle, I think collaboration is the key to the recent success of DE. The F2F classrooms are still needed; however, DE reaches others that before could never had been reached due too "distances" that couldn't be reached. Homebound education is being delivered more effectively as well. My friend participated in a group project for her Master's degree lately at Clemson University. Some students did their share, while others didn't. With DE it is so easy to look up histories and color-code the participants' responses to avoid an unfair credit given to those who don't do their share. Deb :)
ReplyDeleteKellie:
ReplyDeleteIt seems that communication and collaboration often go hand in hand, since some of the tools used for collaboration are also used for communication. I really love wikis. I think it is a great opportunity for students to collaborate on a piece together. It can be easily updated. The first time I had my students collaborating on a project using wiki was an enriching experience for them. They loved the idea that they can access the group’s work and make adjustments without having to meet face to face. Even in a face to face classroom, students may have to find additional time for group meetings to discuss and complete group assignments. Some students find this to be a challenge. Online collaborating tools can now lessen this challenge as students can work on assignments together without having to meet face to face.
Soushira