Collaborative Learning Outside the School Walls

Collaborative learning is one of the key components of creating life long learners. “Encouraging students to reach out to each other to solve problems and share knowledge not only builds collaboration skills, it leads to deeper learning and understanding” (Davis, 2014). Bridging these collaborative connections outside the classroom walls creates new opportunities for students to work together and share with a real world audience of their peers. Over the last school year, I have worked hard to create collaborative with schools in the states and around the globe. Many tools can be used to create these connections. Some of these tools are telepresence, Edmodo, and, as was shared in our resources, ePals. Before you create these collaborative connections, you must consider some pieces depending on how you connect. “Establishing a culture of collaboration isn't resource-intensive. It doesn't take hours of professional development, or technology, or even technical know-how. And assessing collaborative work is usually simple and straightforward. But you do need open minds and the willingness to trust students with their learning. You need a culture that values every student's strengths and a school community that believes everyone can learn from each other” (Davis, 2014). Prior to setting up any collaborative efforts, I have to look into any language barriers. Even if they spoke English, the type of English, dialect, or accents could cause a break down in communication depending on how your are communicating. With students, we did some front loading before these connections to help them become problem-solvers if they found themselves not understanding at some point in their conversations. Another possible issue is time zones. Connections that I have been making in other states or countries can sometimes be limited if the collaboration is happening live. Within our district, we have sister schools located in Argentina and China. Now Argentina poses less of a problem then China when it comes to times to connect. One example of school collaboration using telepresence I did was between one of my Kindergarten classrooms and a Kindergarten classroom in Texas. Students were able to teach their partner school what they had been learning in class. They also showed these students the snow outside and they showed our kids the green grass and trees they had despite that we were in the midst of winter here in Wisconsin. The engagement was high and students were eager to share and talk. They wanted to connect on a regular basis with their new friends. The use of Edmodo to create collaborative groups is an amazing resource. The ability to set up groups and monitor student communication allows for the teacher be apart of the communication while monitoring the students’ digital citizenship skills. For many teacher look to create connections, the ability to control the environment, connections, and discussions. One of my fifth grade teachers has setup her own collaborative connection with a school in Finland. They utilize Edmodo to talk, share projects, and complete projects or discussions together. The students were excited to see if they had received messages from their pen pals and to share their creations and learning with them. The benefit of this collaboration comes from the ability to communicate anytime, anywhere. Students in Finland can contribute when it best fits in their schedule and our students can do the same. The last resource is ePals. This a resource that I have been sharing for years and have watched it evolved. ePals is a website that helps to “connect US students with pen pals on almost every continent, preparing them for an ever-global society in which cultural understanding and fluency will give them an edge” (Demski, 2008, p.1). ePals offers an integrated school mail platform where students can connect with pen pals across the globe opening the doors for collaborative responsibilities. Like Edmodo, the teacher can moderate the group, but what makes it a little better is that no email can go through until the teacher has approved it. “It’s uniqueness is in the control it provides educators, who can adjust protections and access settings according to the different needs and ages of their students” (Demski, 2008, p.1). As with all of my experiences with collaboration in the classroom, the students become more engaged in discussion and energetic about the work they are doing. This is also a skill we are teaching our students to great them ready for a global world where collaboration with staff, colleagues, and business partners could be the standard. No matter what tools you use to open these doors, giving the students the opportunity to collaboratively work outside your school walls is giving them a life-long skill. It is something I recommend to all my teachers and something I do very often myself.

Reference:

Davis, M. (2014, June 12). How Collaborative Learning Leads to Student Success. Edutopia. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-college-prep 

Demski, J. (2008, November). E-palling around. THE Journal, 35(11), 18–19. Retrieved from the Walden University Library using the Education Research Complete database.