As I take a brief interlude from my daily blogging regime to develop a workshop, I am pleased to share an archived copy of a monthly article I wrote a couple of years ago…

In this post I will focus on technology that supports the Learning and Innovation Skills – Communication and Collaboration. Teachers and students who use these skills…

• Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively through speaking and writing
• Demonstrate an ability to work effectively with diverse teams
• Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work

[Partnership for 21st Century Skills]

There are a number of Web 2.0 tools that can be used to support the two “C’s” Below, I have included a few ideas and Web 2.0 resource links that you may find helpful as you strive to build learning opportunities that emphasize communication and collaboration. Please keep in mind, that I am trying to build awareness in this column. I strongly urge you to share these resources with your network and technology directors prior to introducing them in the classroom.

Communication Tools & Strategies

• Skype – free software that will allow students to communicate with other Skype users around the world. Skype has recently added the ability to make video calls as well and they are free as long as you are making a Skype-to-Skype call (and have a webcam). Visit the Skye website for details. This is a great tool for world history students and foreign language students…think of the possibilities! Here are some of the ways you could use Skype…
  • network with other instructional technology teachers
  • connect students with experts worldwide
  • connect students who are learning similar & related content
  • allow parents to see their students presenting
  • allow students who are absent a chance to participate
  • allow teams of teachers to meet virtually
  • allow administrators to connect with classrooms from their office
• Class Blogmeister – there are a number of blogs available for consumer use. This particular blogging tool incorporates a number of teacher controlled features that include privacy and teacher review controls. Blogs provide a communication space that teachers can use with students whenever there is a curriculum need to share ideas, develop writing, and/or reflect on work that is being covered in the classroom. Read the article Instructional Blogging: Promoting Interactivity, Student-Centered Learning, and Peer Input to learn more about blogging in education (free registration required).
• eLGG – social networking in the educational realm is pretty controversial. At the same time, we have students using social networks like My Space with very little guidance and discussion. The question we need to ask ourselves as educators is…do we educate ourselves and our students about or ignore the social networking phenomenon that is taking place?To be honest, I am still on the fence regarding social networking, but I have been investigating eLGG, an open source platform that gives users the ability to incorporate their favorite tools in one environment and showcase content in a network that is controlled by the user (or your school district). This open source software might be worth investigating if you would like to give students a safe place to learn about social networking. I would strongly urge you to experiment with this software at home or with the guidance (and sanction) of your technology director. I would also suggest that you read through the E-Learning Blog…Social networking in the classroom: Learning by Stealth to learn more.

Collaboration Tools & Strategies

• 43Things – a tool that can be used for goal setting. Students can list their goals, share their progress, and cheer each other on using this tool. Health teachers, PE teachers, and coaches take note!
• Gliffy – turn your ideas into pictures. You can publish and collaborate with others with just a click of a button. Others do not have to buy or install anything to see your diagrams online. The basic version is free.
• Voo2do -groups can track prioritize, establish due dates, and set time estimates for collaborative projects. (This tool is great for individuals too!)
• You OS – YouOS is an experiment in a new kind of computing platform that can be accessed online and shared with friends, project partners, etc. Especially helpful for young programming students who are collaborating on a program.
• Writeboard – shareable, web-based text documents that let you save every edit, roll back to any version, and compare changes. This tool interfaces very nicely with your Backpack account (another free and very cool Web 2.0 tool).
• Google Tools – set up google documents (similar to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) that can be accessed by assigned participants.
• Zoho – don’t miss this Google Tools contendor. Zoho is a growing suite of tools that can be used for collaboration of reports, databases, projects, and more. Sign up and explore the growing functionality of this Web 2.0 suite of tools.