What Is Collaborative Technology?
Collaborative technology refers to tools and systems designed to better facilitate group work, both in-office and remote. Also known as groupware, these pieces of technology trim the costs and time associated with facilitating group work, from designating roles and responsibilities to routing in-situ documents to checking and approving project parts. They allow for more intuitive and coordinated group problem solving across an entire team’s workflows.
Types of Collaboration Tools
In recent years, the number of collaborative tools has increased. What once started as simply shared agendas has now developed into something extraordinary.
Communication tools are among some of the more popular types of collaboration tools. These involve shared calendars, live chats, whiteboards for note taking, videoconferences and instant messaging applications.
Decision-making tools help organize ideas in graphic form; organizational tools make it easy to share files.
There are many tools that organizations can acquire to assist with collaboration. Google offers document sharing with Google Docs and allows employees to chat and communicate via Google hangout. Microsoft offers outlook messaging for emails, Skype conversations, and a space for sharing OneDrive documents.
Calendar sharing tools:
The shared calendar facilitates the organization of appointments and meetings without the need to consult all participants. The person organizing the event finds a time interval and can check the availability of the other participants, the meeting room and then send out an invitation. These tools save a lot of time for facilitating teamwork.
File sharing tools:
File sharing tools allow you to transfer files, distribute them and give access to them. Shared files can be various kinds; software, books, videos, documents, etc.. These tools avoid transferring everything via email and saturating inboxes with heavy files.
Instant messaging:
Instant messaging allows you to exchange text messages and online files in real time via a computer. The dialogue is interactive and most applications allow the exchange of video files, voice communication and video conferences.
Document synchronization:
Document synchronization aims at matching two documents. This means that any modification, addition or deletion of a document in a directory will also be effective in the second directory. This way, employees have the latest version and the information remains the same everywhere. The two documents remain exactly identical.
Cloud storage:
Storage can be done within the organization but also in the cloud. Cloud storage exploits the power of the server’s information storage system which lives in the cloud. The data is stored remotely via a telecommunications network.
Video-conferencing:
A method of communicating with a live, visual connection by means of a video with multiple people across multiple locations. In-person meetings can be replaced with videoconferences so the team can still get the “feeling” of seeing each other as they communicate.
Whiteboards:
An online whiteboard is a literal replacement of the classic whiteboard. Collaborators can take turns communicating visual information via text, drawings and graphics on this whiteboard then erase it as you would with an actual dry eraser.
COLLABORATION TOOL #1: BLENDSPACE
How Does Blendspace Fit?
Blendspace is a tool that provides many possibilities and initially I used it as a method of curating resources and flipping my classroom. There are similar tools available, and regardless of which you choose, having one place to keep your resources is a really great idea. So how do you make the decision? How do you know which to rely on?
Looking at sites such as Graphite or EdShelf can help. Reading blogs and participating in Twitter chats are also great ways to find out what others are using and their thoughts. For example, using something like Graphite or EdShelf, you can get a summary of the uses of a web tool, read the reviews and stories about user experiences. Hearing about how other educators are using tools like Blendspace is tremendously helpful when deciding on what tool to integrate into your classroom.
3 Ways To Use Blendspace In The Classroom
1. Flip Your Classroom
I like Blendspace because it really does provide a variety of benefits to me both personally and professionally. It can be used as a way to flip the classroom and to save that vital classroom time for student interactions, engaging activities, or having students work independently while teachers facilitate their activities and provide feedback one-on-one.
Blendspace can be used to create a lesson using the TES Resources tab, then shared with students through their class account or through a direct link. Regardless of how the lesson is shared, students have access to many resources and can learn asynchronously outside of the classroom, on their own schedule, using whatever device they choose.
This means that, in ideal circumstances, learning can take place anywhere at any time. The choice is the students’ and that’s the great thing about technology and the usefulness of tools like Blendspace. It can also be used to store favorite web tools, presentations, or one’s personal work. It makes it easier to share ideas with colleagues, and organized teaching and learning materials with students.
2. Present Student Work In Class
Blendspace is a way to avoid fumbling with flash drives, losing valuable class time opening emails and attachments. All of the student projects can be added by their URL or uploaded into one lesson, given it a title, and in class, only one lesson has to be opened to display the student work for the class to enjoy.
3. Build A Lesson
Building a lesson for any level or discipline is easy with Blendspace. Simply choose your topic and by using the TES Resource tools provided such as Google Search, Educreations, Google Drive, Dropbox, uploads from your computer, and more, you can quickly build a lesson. All it takes is finding the resource and dragging it into place in your lesson.
COLLABORATION TOOL #2: WIKISPACES
Wikispaces, one of education's standout collaborative technology in the classroom websites, is closing down at the end of June 2018. Thousands of teachers have used the free Wikispaces platform to share technology in the classroommaterials with students and colleagues, to run online classrooms, or as the virtual arm of a blended course. Its robustness and versatility allowed teachers to engage in discussion boards, forums, share all sorts of media, and create a personalized technology in the classroom environment that could be tweaked to adapt to individual needs. Its end has left teachers scrambling for alternatives that accomplish the same goals within a tight education budget.
Let's back up a moment: What is a wiki? A wiki is a collaborative website that collects and organizes content created and revised by users.
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