This week, we were given the opportunity to take advantage multiple online tools that allowed us to complete a presentation with group members, without ever having to meet them in person. The tools I learned this week will without a doubt allow me to complete future group assignments more effective and efficiently.
Collaborative Work
One of the key points that were presented this week was the importance of collaborative learning. This was something I had a difficult time accepting and applying, because I have always been an incredibly independent student. I am much more comfortable working by myself and absorbing information independently. However, given the massive amount of information from multiple sources regarding the importance of collaborative work, I will have to push myself to take advantage of collaborative opportunities whenever they present themselves. According to the Institute of Writing and Rhetoric (2013), students are more deeply engaged when they are actively learning with other people. They also discuss the fact that the best way to learn something is to teach it, something that I've known since I took a high school psychology course. Mesko (2013) discusses the usefulness of online tools to facilitate collaborative learning. He states that online collaborative tools allow us to save time and effort, and to have others find problems with our work that we may have overlooked. He also presents Google Docs as a useful and effective tool that allows group members to edit the document simultaneously. However, he concludes that the most important point is the fact that we need to find the tools that best fit our needs, something that I have tried to keep in mind throughout this course.
(Politics Wikipedia, 2011, http://wiki.agroknow.gr/politics/index.php/Grundtvig_Workshop_on_Collaborative_Learning_and_Active_Citizenship)
TodaysMeet
One of the first tools that we were told to use for our collaborative assignment was TodaysMeet, which allowed us to discuss the assignment and work out our parts without having to actually meet or add each other on social networking sites. As group member Connor stated, we were quickly able to decide who would do each component of the presentation and how it should be developed (Scott, 2014, http://connors93.blogspot.ca/2014/03/weekly-report-reflection-for-session-7.html?showComment=1393815399598). This made communication between our group simple, professional, and quick. I really like this tool and will be adding it to my PLE because it allows us to communicate with others without having to wait for an email or add each other on a social networking site. Furthermore, anyone with the link can participate in the discussion, making it possible for many people to work together through TodaysMeet. I almost didn't believe how easy it was for us to use TodaysMeet, we didn't even have to make an account or sign up for a subscription!
Google Docs
The main tool that facilitated our group's ability to complete a presentation online was Google Docs. My experience with Google Docs taught me just how straightforward and easy it was to use. I could do anything I normally do on Microsoft Word online, and simultaneously have others work on the same document without it ever conflicting, making it the ideal tool for collaborative work. Google Docs can be used in so many ways in many different contexts - from employee hour tracking in a professional setting, to sharing notes when preparing for an exam in a academic setting, to preparing different forms or professional documents (ex. contracts, proposals) in a business setting. Basically, anytime you need to collaboratively work on a single spreadsheet, text document, or presentation, Google Docs is the ideal tool if an Internet connection is available. However, the fact that we can collaborate with others through the Internet also means that we aren't able to work on the files if an Internet connection is unavailable. Though this isn't a massive concern in an age where most places have wifi access available, it is nonetheless something that should be kept in mind. As Lefever (2007) put it, it is like keeping files in one home instead of multiple, which makes things not only easier, but much more efficient.
(Online Colleges, 2012, http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/04/04/52-great-google-docs-secrets-for-students/)
PLE Development
The tools that was presented this week can be added onto my PLE in multiple areas. I will be adding TodaysMeet into the Collaborating and Socializing section, and GoogleDocs in the Collaborating and Socializing section in addition to the Producing Content part of the Synthesizing and Creating section of my PLE.
As classmate Rosy discusses in her blog post, as our PLE grows, it is also important for us to remove parts of it that are no longer relevant and benefit us less (Bhullar, 2014, http://aded1p32rbhullar.blogspot.ca/2014/03/practicing-digital-literacy-weekly.html). Nonetheless, I haven't removed any parts of my PLE, as it started out limited and small. I am sure, however, that as I learn about more tools throughout this course, I will absolutely be taking out parts of my PLE that are no longer useful.
RSS Feed Update
This week, an article that I found through my RSS feed talked about how collaborative learning can be promoted and nurtured in a classroom (Block, 2014, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/nurturing-collaboration-5-strategies-joshua-block). Interestingly, the 4th strategy that Block suggested was to use tech tools to simplify the process, which is what we learned to do this week. With these tools, students can have easy access to the work of their peers, and can add their work to the group assignment.
Sources:
Institute for Writing & Rhetoric. (2013). Collaborative Learning/Learning with Peers. Available at http://dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/teaching/first-year-writing-pedagogies-methods-design/collaborative-learninglearning-peers
Institute for Writing & Rhetoric. (2013). Collaborative Learning/Learning with Peers. Available at http://dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/teaching/first-year-writing-pedagogies-methods-design/collaborative-learninglearning-peers
Mesko, B. (2013). The Social MEDia Course: Online Collaboration. Available at http://prezi.com/ipuvecsfcruz/the-social-media-course-online-collaboration/
Lefever, L. (2007). Google Docs in Plain English.If you cannot view the video above, go to http://youtu.be/eRqUE6IHTEA
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