It Takes A Village (and then some!)

We’ve all heard the saying… “It takes a village to raise a child” but, what exactly does that mean? This proverb is believed to have derived from African culture years and years ago. It simply alludes to a big picture ideal that learning from more than one source (other than simply ourselves!) is needed and a huge benefit all the way around. As a mom, I have come to realize that in this technological age… I have a PLN for motherhood – hundreds of resources are available for parenting, as well as age-old advice from others. Now… “It takes a village” was normally used simply within the same sentences and contexts for raising kids, but today, a “village” is smack in the middle of this technological age – aka 21^st century collaboration.

For starters, Webster defines collaboration as working “jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor”. In working together, we inadvertently form villages or teams, or groups… However you want to call it, it is collective ideas, thoughts, perspectives and opinions pulled together for the purpose of learning and reaching a desired outcome or goal.

We know that collaboration is essential in the list of 21^st century skills to incorporate into today’s classroom. But, what about using the village approach when it comes to the teachers/staff as well! There are many types of learning environments and resources that allude to the overall village-type community.

Let’s take a look at some specifics and define each of them.

Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s or PLN’s)

Purpose/Description: To categorize/sort teachers/staff into “working groups” geared toward a particular area of commonality, interest or field/topic area. Sole purpose? Collaborative learning!

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)

Purpose/Description: Online applications used specifically for teaching and learning environments. Collaboration abounds!

Social Networks (Educational and Professional)

Social Networks are online collaborative sites for folks to gather (virtually). Discussions and tasks are based upon similarities in professions, industries, goals, etc. One of the main/major purposes is for the sharing of relevant information.

A great example of a social network with purpose…

Classroom 2.0

Classroom 2.0 is a social networking site that offers a collaborative place for those interested in Education, Web 2.0 and Social Media. Great resource! (Powered by Ning)

What are our “villages” within WS/FCS?

Learning Village Curriculum Warehouse

WSFCS Moodle (See how it works!)

WSFCS DIT Collaborative Resource Wiki

Want to learn more about collaboration/villages? Check out these two blogs for additional perspectives…

http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com/

http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/

Pick a village (or two, or three…) and join. Collaboration or team-work… or village, however you choose to identify it - it has many benefits towards growth.

Communicate, Collaborate, Connect

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 2009 NCTIES conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. NCTIES is the acronym for North Carolina Technology in Education Society. “The mission of NCTIES is to provide leadership in educational communications and technology by linking all who hold a common interest in the use of educational technology and its application to the learning process.”

The tagline used by NCTIES gives pause for reflection… Communicate, Collaborate, Connect. In this, the 21st Century, those words are powerful. Let’s look at each one individually and then collectively.

According to Webster, their definitions are as follows…

--
Communicate: to convey knowledge of or information about; make known

Collaborate: to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor

Connect: to become joined; to place or establish in relationship
--

Collectively, those three words can easily be used to shape and define the skills that are developed through the use of 21st Century classroom initiatives! What comes into play?

· Telecommunications (Skype, Twitter, etc.)
· Global Communities (Quest Atlantis, ePals, etc.)
· Wikis (PBwiki)
· Blogs (Blogger)
· Shared Documents (Google Docs)
· RSS Readers (Google Reader)
· Social Bookmarking (Delicious)
· Moodle
· Video-Conferencing
· The list goes on and on….

How will you communicate? How will you collaborate? How will you connect? The tools are already in place – just add creativity. Your students will appreciate it.

Sharing the Workload

In years past, sharing your assignment with another student was absolutely unheard of! It left the door open for cheating, giggling and an unproductive environment! How did you prove which student did the work? Who learned the most? Did they learn anything at all, or use the time to catch up on school happenings? Many questions were left unanswered with simply “sharing” work. That was then. This is now.

With the integration of technology into the classroom, many traditionally valued ideals in the classrooms of yesteryears are just that – a thing of the past. Technology not only provides our students with multimedia, new methodologies and interactivity – it gives them the newfound ability to gain insight from their surroundings, and others.

We already know that collaboration provides students with perspectives beyond their own. But, what method do you choose to set the students up for success in building those collaborations? Simple answer – collaborative workspaces.

There are many Web 2.0 applications to choose from, but here, we will look at four different versions.

1) Zoho Writer (zoho.com)
2) Writeboard (writeboard.com)
3) ThinkFree (thinkfree.com)
4) Google Docs (docs.google.com)

All four of these internet-based applications allow multiple users to edit the same document, at the same time. One of the best teacher features? There are revision updates automatically posted so you can tell which student made which changes, and at what time!

Pros to using collaborative writing tools – builds partnerships within a project, allows for ownership, allows for a unified workflow, and allows for the completion of work regardless of the location and time. Student accountability to each project partner is also a leading benefit. At the completion of the project, each of these applications has the ability to export the documents out into at least one or more popular file formats like .doc, .rtf, .pdf or .txt.

Cons to using collaborative writing tools – before assigning a group project using an online collaboration workspace, be sure all students involved have access to the internet. You also need to keep a watchful eye on the different ads displayed.

Are these applications just for students? Definitely not. These four can easily be used between grade-level teachers, school administrators, and others to collaborate on all types of projects and topics.

Each of the four applications mentioned is completely free. So, start writing. Encourage sharing.

Fresh Perspective – Old Concept

Webster defines collaboration this way: “to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor”. With 21st Century Learning Skills, how should we define collaboration? Quite similar to Webster but with significant focus on output.

Is collaboration necessary in our classrooms today? Simple answer, a resounding yes! Who benefits the most? The students.

Collaboration is all about pulling the strengths, ideals and even experiences from everyone in the group. And, yes, students bring valuable experiences with them to class every day! In a group of students, collaboration helps to open their eyes, really, to perspectives beyond their own.

Successful collaboration is found when all the members find (or literally begin to see) the value within the input of others. Putting all of those perspectives together should still, somehow, provide moments where students can grasp the goal/knowledge desired. Almost like having one problem, but then seeing that there are lots of solutions, not necessarily just one! Pool all of the ideas and solutions together - align as a group on one accord - and then you have collaboration. What has been learned? The main objective, as well as some valuable knowledge that can't be measured.

Collaboration in our classrooms today… simply what we have always called team work! The benefits are infinite.