Online Collaboration in Action during COVID 19!!!!
I believe that 'Connected-Connections' enhance learning, whether online or offline. Simply because learning can happen anywhere, at anytime, in any place! Just as online collaboration enables authentic connections between us as kaiako along with our disciplines, this type of technology and the use of it (via school-issued ipads and/or personal devices), also enables ākonga to connect with us and the learning. These locations constitute actual meeting points for students, teachers and tutors, thus allowing for face-to-face exams and seminars, as well for videoconferencing (1). In addition, the use of this technology in this way, supports learning, helps ākonga connect with each other, and promotes deeper learning at all levels. There is evidence to suggest that online learning may in fact have an advantage in supporting collaboration and creating a sense of community (2).
Digital Tools used for collaboration:
TRELLO: Introduced late last year for our senior school team as an easy to use, free and visual way of managing our learning design, specifically, project based learning. I had been using Trello since the DCL programme and still find it useful. I use 3 storyboards under my to do list, which simply read as: Tasks I have to do, Tasks I am currently working on and tasks completed. This helps me keep tabs (accountability) on how I structure my short term goals: day-to-day tasks and meetings. It also keeps me on track with my long term goals, that are monthly and Term-by-Term. A good digital tool that is easy to use and easily understood no matter what your level of tech. knowledge is. Also, the storyboards allow you to keep your own digital type learning journal and personal task-boards.
SLACK: Only introduced in the last week in our school. It has shown a steady interest staff-wide as it has all the channels with projects that are currently being run across our kura. The benefits are that there is open communication and transparency as everyone can see what is happening, who is involved and it gives you a chance to be involved directly or indirectly.
The following is a collection of my own and online resources of Key Principles for Successful Collaboration in Online Learning:
Team Work: Think and learn effectively with others
Critical Thinking: Reflection, problem solving and decision-making
Ako: See yourself as a learner and a leader
Participation: Every learner having a sense of belonging
Hauora: Mana, well-being and identity are valued
Self-Determined: Understand that they can `construct' their own knowledge and will be rewarded for doing so (3)
Compassionate: Tolerate and support multiple perspectives (3)
Socialisation: Social presence seems to support cognitive objectives as it encourages and supports meaningful critical thinking processes. (4)
Transformative Learning: Online collaborative learning can lead to deep, academic learning (5)
Final Words: Additionally, creating collaborative activities requires sound pedagogy, motivation, and proficiency to be successful. As students, instructors, and technology advance, so do collaborative learning activities. (6)
References:
(1) Vanin, Luca & Castelli, Stefano & Pepe, Alessandro & Addimando, Loredana. (2008). An Academic Guidance Model to Orient Distance Students. 10.4018/9781599048451.ch001.
(2) Garrison, D.. (2006). Online collaboration principles. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. 10. 10.24059/olj.v10i1.1768.
(3) McConnell, David. <i>E-Learning Groups and Communities</i>, McGraw-Hill Education, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/themindlab/detail.action?docID=292110. Created from themindlab on 2019-05-19 21:55:10. (4) Manca, S., & Vanin, L. (2011). Models and strategies to support students’ initial socialization in web-based learning environments. In Techniques for fostering collaboration in online learning communities: Theoretical and practical perspectives (pp. 82-98). IGI Global.
(5) Bates, T. (2018). Online Collaborative Learning. [Teaching in a Digital Age]. Retrieved from: https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/6-5-online-collaborative-learning/
(6) Higley, M. (2018, January 27). Reasons Why Collaborative Online Learning Activities Are Effective. [eLearning Industry Blog]. Retrieved from: https://elearningindustry.com/collaborative-online-learning-activities-reasons-effective
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