Tools to use for student collaboration
Collaboration is considered by many to be one of the most critical 21st century skills. Technology has allowed the world to become a much more connected -- and interconnected! -- place. Teaching students how to work together is so much more than mere cooperative learning; it's teaching students how to build, create, and learn together. Use these sites to help focus on student collaboration.
TitanPad is a great tool for enabling multiple students to work on the same document at the same time. You can track changes with different colors and students can "chat" about the document in a side box. With a simple interface, this is a great opportunity for students to work together across the classroom or across the state!
Edmodo is a social networking site devoted strictly to education. It looks and feels much like Facebook, but without the extra bells and whistles that make school districts leery of using it. Also, Edmodo has tight security, meaning you can let just the students in your class or group that you want.
Nota: Nota is a site similar to Glogster EDU with different functionality. Nota allows you to search and import directly from other web products like YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, and others as well as other forms of media. While not obviously flashy, Nota is another tool that enables students to create lively multimedia presentations that break the boundaries of Power Point. Also, Nota allows for collaborative creation which unleashes all sorts of possibilities. In this way, Nota is set apart from Glogster and allows for that important skill of collaboration.
Storybird: Storybird is a tool you can use for collaborative storytelling. Multiple students could work on the same story -- or a single student could work on just one. Storybird provides the graphics and easy-to-use interface (you need Adobe Flash!), so the focus is on the quality of the story.
The site believes that anyone will enjoy using it, but kids aged 3-13 might find it the best fit. Best yet, Storybird has an educator's version that allows you to create classes so you can organize your students' work.
The site believes that anyone will enjoy using it, but kids aged 3-13 might find it the best fit. Best yet, Storybird has an educator's version that allows you to create classes so you can organize your students' work.