Technology & Collaboration

Simone Baechle, Gabriella Meiterman-Rodriguez,

David Perrotti, and Stephanie Quartsin

Technology as a Manifestation of Collaboration

Many experts agree that the internet and related digital

tools are essentially an expression of (social)
constructivism

If students are able to independently access a wealth of information

and a never-ending variety of opportunities for social interaction on
the web.then what is the role of the teacher?

Guiding Learners who are Already Tech-Savvy

The shrewd instructor must find ways to direct and guide student learning in a
manner that facilitates interaction not just with technology, but with
meaningful and authentic tasks and content (Ford & Lott, 2009)

Do your best to stay up-to-date and learn the technology!

What sources, materials, and texts are best suited to the

aims of the class (SLOs)?
Moderate student interactions:
Recognize pro-social behavior
Encourage attention and motivation

Example: Social Constructivism and the

African Roots of Jazz Dance
Utilized the theory of social constructivism

Taught face-to-face dance unit on these principles

Variety of modes of student response/assessment

How to guide students- lead them to key sources, but

still leave room for interesting tangents

Eye-opening for student and teacher- new ways to shape

curriculum

Example: Social Constructivism and the

African Roots of Jazz Dance

Communities of Collaboration
Students may discover peers
from around the world through
shared interests

Conversely, common goals may unite

students with varied interests

Benefits of digital collaboration are

evidenced beyond the screen

The use of technology facilitates younger

minds to develop researching skills.

Computers help aid children to build

efficient learning through the web

Lesson plans can be covered easily

through presentations and recorded
tutorials

Demise of real social interaction in the

classroom

Susceptible to cyber bullying

Laziness of doing work

EPA disapproved

Cons

Pros and Cons of Tech use in the

Classroom

Adaptation to commensalism

Pros

WebQuests

WebQuests use a central question based on a real world issue and ask students
to solve the problem or answer the question (ODonnell et al, 2007).

Characteristics: students take on specific goals within greater collective efforts,

students can post solutions or answers for comments and evaluation.

Example: History question about how those living in the United States during
the Civil War were affected by its various events.

Online Mentoring

Online mentoring can include one on one online mentoring or groups of

students working with a single mentor (ODonnell et al, 2007).

Characteristics: Help can be provided for students that may have schedules that
are hard to work with, or students who need extra individual attention.
Students can work at home, and can develop great relationships with their
mentors.
Example: Online Tutoring

Knowledge Forum

A knowledge forum can be used by an entire class to post questions, comments,

or concerns that they have pertaining to the class, and can be used by students
to gain access to various types of information and resources as well.

Characteristics: centralized format with unique input by students of the class

Example: Forum posts and responses for Educational Psychology Class

Google Docs

Google Docs is a cloud based system used to share documents, sheets, slides, and forms with other
people working on the same project or assignment, and collaborate on different ideas as they see fit for
their respective tasks at hand.
People using Google Docs: High school students, college students, companies

Characteristics: Can collaborate on essays, presentations, and spreadsheets; can chat with other
members of group; do not have to meet in person
Example: Technology and Collaboration Project

How teachers can impliment Google Docs in the classroom: https://docs.google.

com/presentation/d/1_6fh7wXkugHQbbA2ILrjsFqysvclJCbul2I3Oc912D8/present?slide=id.i0 .

Building Connections
Technology and
collaboration tie into
Eriksons framework of
psychosocial development
in the stages of identity
versus role confusion, as
well as intimacy versus
isolation.

Status Characteristics

Status characteristics focus on the manifestations of the classroom- how the student behaves, what their cumulative grade is, their

(Donnell, A., & Reeve, J., 2007, p.319)

success at partner assignments, and overall how they are perceived by their peers according to external factors.

Examples: Everyone choosing the same peer and leaving out others.

Examples: Team Captains and the last child left behind.

Low Status Characteristics: The less popular partner to work with; unreliable, inefficient, ignored, useless.

a.

High Status Characteristics: The more popular partner to work with; reliable, organized, efficient.

There are two types of status characteristics:

1.

2.
a.

Status characteristics need to be avoided in the classroom because it Affects interaction, participants rates, and the kind of
cognitive activities in which students engage in. (Alexander, P. & Winne, P., 2006, p. 157)

Decreasing the Value?

Technology can be detrimental to group collaboration

Is the playing field fair online?

- Does everyone value one another as equal?
- Does everyone have access to technology? (SES)
Do we become (over)confident hiding behind the
screen?
- Professor Joyces example

Mojojo LOW
Power puff HIGH

Types of Status Characteristics:

1. Societal: SES, gender, race, etc.
2. Social: Academic ranking, GPA.
3. Classroom: Societal + Social

a. How we view collaboration in classroom

b. Would you rather... work on an online collaboration research project
(like this one) with someone who brings their laptop to class everyday
and has a 3.7 GPA or someone who comes to class with nothing to take
notes on and has a 3.0 GPA? (2 different types of learners).

Teacher Prevention

Teachers can prevent exclusion in the classroom through

Complex Instruction (CI): We see each others worth!

What students experience in the classroom affects their views of

what occurs outside of the classroom...
Thus, this impacts collaboration online because students view
their peers as having equal status (no more high or low) and they
value the material presented by one another.
Alternate plans of actions are made to satisfy each individuals
SES complications to success in the project too.

Works Cited
Works Cited:

Alexander, Patricia A., Winne, Philip H. (2006) Handbook of Educational Psychology. New York, New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis
Group.

Covert, Adrian (2013). Will Google Docs Kill Off Microsoft Office? New York, New York: CNN Money. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.
com/2013/11/13/technology/enterprise/microsoft-office-google-docs/ .

Ford, Kristina & Lott, Leslie (2009). The Impact of Technology on Constructivist Pedagogies. Ed Tech: Boise State University. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/a/boisestate.edu/edtechtheories/the-impact-of-technology-on-constructivist-pedagogies-1 .

Hedges, Larry V., Schneider, Barbara. (2005) The Social Organization of Schooling. New York, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

ODonnell, A., & Reeve, J. (2007). Educational psychology: Reflection for action (chapter 9-10). Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.

Stiglitz, Julia. Google Apps in Classrooms and Schools: 32 Ways to Use Google Apps. Retrieved from https://docs.google.
com/presentation/d/1_6fh7wXkugHQbbA2ILrjsFqysvclJCbul2I3Oc912D8/present?slide=id.i0 .

University of Vermont. What is Complex Instruction? UVM Education. Retrieved from http://www.uvm.edu/complexinstruction/about_ci.
html.