From as far back as I can remember, I hated group projects. I hated finding the time to get together with people I barley knew or always having to a significant amount of the work my partners should have been helping with. Thankfully, I didn’t have to do many group projects in high school, but when I got to college the amount of collaboration with my peers increase significantly. I always got nervous when I looked at the syllabus and saw that there was a group project and I didn’t know anyone in my class. As I started by AED classes, the number of group projects and presentations grew and I actually started to like them. I met knew people and began making friends that I knew I could count on. I began to see that collaboration is a good thing!

                                                                                                                                            I had to read an article entitle “The Process of Online Collaboration” and it really opened my eyes as to what collaboration in a classroom can do for the students. The article discusses the benefits of online collaboration and there I realized how awesome it can be in a classroom.The author writes about how to proceed with online collaboration in five different steps: 1.) Set the Stage, 2.) Create the Environment, 3.) Model the process, 4.) Guide the Process, and 5.) Evaluate the Process

It is important for students to know how the new collaboration will work in the classroom and therefore, the teachers needs to help students to figure this out. A common misconception with online collaboration is that the students can work without an instructor, but it is important that the teacher is always available to make sure students are engaging with each other and their work.  It is also important the teacher models for the students how to work with online collaboration so that students know what they should do…scaffolding is important in this process!

I think online collaboration is great in the classroom. Students can bring their own skills to the process and also learn from others in their group. It is so important as teachers to help students with their learning and online collaboration is a way to do it!