Leah Kirwan

Telecollaboration the new idea...

Curriculum Based Telecollaboration by Judi Harris

This article is about helping student?s telecollaborate with the use of the Internet to complete curriculum learning goals.  Three types of learning are:

1. Interpersonal Exchange
2. Information collection and Analysis
3. Problem Solving

Interpersonal exchange is talking electronically through email, blogs or other modes of communication.  Through these modes students share information and discuss different topics at hand.  Information collection and analysis is basically conducting an electronic survey, collecting the responses and then analyzing them to come up with the solution to the problem.  With problem solving it promotes peer feedback, information searches and social action projects.  The idea is to go through the decision-making process by motivating students to collaborate with other students in other states or just in the classroom.  It promotes across the board learning.

Some ideas that I pulled form the article are keypals.  With keypals students are split up into pairs to communicate about discussion topics through email, blogs or instant messaging.  Some teachers find this to be time consuming monitoring emails, but on a smaller scale it promotes student interaction and it gets them using the computer.  Another idea that was interesting was the ask-the-expert site.  This site is an index to help learners find answers to questions.  So many students have no idea how to find answers to questions that this website will be a great asset to my classroom and I hope to be able to use it soon in the future. 

This article encompasses all the things we having been learning in this class.  It promotes across the board technology integration.  Not only does it involved technology but it gets the students involved with other students across the world or across the hall.  It promotes teacher collaboration not just within a school but also with other teachers in the county or world.  This idea works well with the Magnet school ideal, which I have stated before in my articles.  The next step would be to see if these programs used in this article cost money or do we only need to do an Internet search to find them and use them.  The idea that in the classroom I can make finding answers easier and then making projects more engaging by promoting student discussion really excites me as a teacher.  All students love to use email, blogs, or any form of the internet that to be able to implement it in the lesson in a positive way makes it a good situation for both the student and myself as the teacher.  That seems to be challenge in the classroom when you have computers.  All students want to do is send email to friends and download games that in my opinion are inappropriate for school and at home.  I try to have a tight hold on my students and make sure they stay on task and don?t get on sites they are not supposed to.  The idea of telecollaboration is a great idea that gets students using the Internet in a positive manner and not in a mind numbing activity. 

Posted at 05:35PM Jun 17, 2006 by KIRWAN, LEAH in General  |  Comments[0]