In this day and age, online collaboration is extremely essential.  No matter what, we are constantly referring to the internet to help us solve problems and share ideas.  If it were not for everyone contributing to shared spaces, we would not be the advanced society we are.  Whatever you need, you can find through a simple google search.

As a Pre-Service teacher, I can definitely see the value in online collaboration.  There are so many resources for me to use in order to collaborate with other Pre-Service teachers, teachers, and even administrators. Just a few hours ago I was taking part in an educational Twitter chat with various other teachers and Pre-Service teachers from all around the world.  It was a great way to share ideas for the classrooms and ask questions that I was curious about.  Things like Twitter chats are an incredible way to connect with people we do not know in order to improve our classrooms.  We read a ton of research in text books but it makes it more authentic to be able to discuss these ideas with people who put them into practice.

Online collaboration has so many portals.  In some of my college courses, we have skyped with authors of novels and textbooks.  As students, we were able to ask them questions and look for advice.  We use NINGs to blog in forums with each other to promote discussion outside the classroom.  My classmates and I are able to put up blog posts on topics of our choice to share what interests us.  The NINGs are open to English teachers and authors in the area who would like to be involved in our discussions.  Similarly, in one of my classes, we made our own blogs (as seen here!)  I am able to use this space to write anything on my mind within class guidelines.  It is a public space for people all over the world to read – I even have an interactive map on the side of my blog that shows where people are looking at my blog.  It allows me to share my ideas and get feedback from others.

Online collaboration is an amazing part of our lives.  As a Pre-Service teacher, I plan on using online collaboration in my future career for my own purposes as well as for the benefit of my students.  There is so much to do on the internet and I hope to give my students the tools necessary to see all its worth.