|kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən|
Collaboration
The power of collaboration basically depends on the number of people that are working together. The traditional view is that collaborative learning can occur at a group level. In schools, the learners can be grouped into groups of 4 and they are asked to cooperate with each other and to help each other to learn. No one can deny that collaboration can take place here.
However, there is a need to change this perception. A bit of imagination is required here. Imagine, instead of asking 3 other people to help you with a problem, you have the ability to ask 40 people. In the past, it may seem implausible. The reason is simple - we just do not have enough time in class to allow 40 people to respond.
Fortunately, technology gives us the affordance. With the advent of collaborative tools, we can now collaborate at the same time. In addition, the tool can be used from the learner’s home - this means that the learning is no longer merely confined to the classroom.
Tools like Wall Wisher and Linoit allow this level of collaboration. Personally, the interface of Linoit shows more promise and the ability for users to collaborate on the canvas does not require you to log in or sign up. Furthermore, this tool provides a myrid of other functions from attaching a YouTube video to uploading Word documents onto the canvas for collaboration. The Wall Wisher interface is less appealing and it is plagued with connectivity problems. There is a lag in the post time and when more than 10 people collaborate on the same canvas, the program tends to hang.
Here is a snapshot of some of the pupils’ work.
When I conducted this particular activity for my 2 classes, I informed each class of the existence of the canvas of the other class. This took the level of collaboration to another level. The pupils not only learnt from their own classmates but learnt from the pupils from another class. Let your imagination run wild and you can see what collaboration can really achieve.
