I challenge anyone to read an article, or listen to a talk, or watch a video on 21st century learning without hearing how important collaboration is as a skill for students. It is so important, it even gets its own NETS standard! So do you really want to read another blog about why collaboration is so important? Lets both agree that it’s a biggie.
Technology can help our kids collaborate. We use it all the time, most often in the form of Google Apps, or Prezi, or Wallwisher or a number of other online tools. Technology though, shouldn’t become the sole method for collaboration. I get to see a class full students everyday and I would hate to have a class full of students collaborating together everyday without saying a word. There are, of course exceptions to this.
Twitter might be the coolest tool for teachers since chalk. This past weekend, at the one-to-one technology conference, ASBUnplugged, I heard some version of, “If there is one thing you get from this conference, join Twitter” about ten times. If you are not on yet, I am guessing that you have been “resisting.” I heard that quite a few times too. I’ll let you in on a secret, you are going to join sooner or later, so you might as well get started.
Teachers on Twitter are always sharing. And asking for help. And giving help. I have seen Google Docs sent out where teachers could go in and add what they were doing regarding the topic. I have personally shared and used linked information that has directly help shape my understanding or instruction. It is a powerful tool.
The Web Is Brainy
Image: Flickr John & Mel Kots
Written text is like driving in America; you stay in your line. Web text is like driving in India; you can go in any direction at anytime. Everything is linked. Even the stuff that isn’t linked is now linked. On certain websites, or with the right browser app, any word you highlight is instantly searchable or defined or both.
One great tool that could really help kids to understand how concepts and words are interconnected is Tag Galaxy. Here, you can plug in a word (tag), or multiple words and it instantly connects other words. If you click on one of those, it takes you to a new level. And if you click on the center inside any of those levels, photos from flickr with that tag are displayed.
The non-linear nature of the web should be an easy conversation to have. In Humanities, I don’t let kids get away with linear thinking, because in my subject, that is simple thinking. As we use these web tools, the conversation needs to happen there. Teachers must take the time to make sure students are not just clicking links. They need to know why they are clicking them.
