While studying how to be a teacher, I’ve learned how important collaboration truly is to the growth of a classroom.  Throughout my HS and MS careers, I don’t really recall doing much group work.  However, collaboration does not have to end just there: group work in the classroom.  You can collaborate across the world, thanks to technology, via skype (for example).  You can also collaborate across the hall with another teacher.  Maybe even with another school district.  A lot of people, such as the DS106 community, collaborate online.

Online collaboration is very important, but before doing so you have to create the environment.  According to the article, The Process of Online Collaboration”,  ”In order for collaborative activity to happen well, students need to have a place to meet and know the parameters of how they should connect” (21).  This means that you cannot just throw people into an online environment, but you have to create it and let students know what they should be doing.  The article calls that “setting the stage” and “guiding the process”.

Even though this is true online, I feel as if this is true in the classroom as well.  You cannot just walk into a class and tell the students to work together.  You need to break up groups (or let them choose), explain what is expected, explain their activity, and make sure that they know how to do the activity as expected.  This way students are still collaborating, but this time they know how to do it effectively.