Defining Collaboration

COLLABORATION

A Simple Definition (off the top of my head)
Where a group of students/people work together on a shared vision or goal. Each person has certain responsibilities.

Pros & Cons
+students enjoy the opportunity to talk and be with friends in the class
+some students really excel at working with others
+divide the work into smaller components
+distributed leadership in the class

-many students do not like relying on others to do the work
-students have difficulty trusting others to do their job or to produce quality work
-some students dominate and tell others what to do
-some students don't really participate

The Technology Integration Matrix

Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2011.

Teacher POV
The difficulty I have with collaboration is how to assess collaboration.
Should it be based on roles?
Should it be on the process or the product/outcome?
What if someone does not complete their portion of the work?
What about fairness?


I will admit that these questions and definitions are based on the "old" way to collaborate--having students work inside the classroom without technology. I do have students collaborate through Socratic Circles, Forum Discussions, Jigsaws, etc. I also have tried many applications for student to do their work. I just really want the two ideas--technology and collaboration--to be fused. So, I consulted a few professional reads for more formal definitions:

Dr. Harvey Silver, Ed.d defines collaboration as:
1. helping students increase their sense of responsibility for learning
2.  a focus on metacognition
3. improving their social and interactive skills in a  work situation
4. fostering improved attitudes toward academic achievement, subject matter, and peers 
 Source: Silver, Harvey F., J. Robert Hanson, R. Wilson. Strong, and Patricia B. Schwartz. Teaching Styles and Strategies. 3rd ed. Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ: Thoughtful Education, 2003. Print.

From the National Institute for Science Education
1. opens doors
2. diverse view points
3. challenges students socially and emotionally
4. Assimilate old and new knowledge
5.A framework for meaningful discourse

Education.com
addresses the greater need for Professional Learning Communities so that collaboration can be sustained

NCTE Journal on Collaboration
Comments from the editor rang out to me on so many levels, but ultimately collaboration should
1. be opportunities rather than an enforcement of something
2. authentic
3. "To collaborate is to be human"--Aristotle's Poetics

And off to Tech Cafe for more help...