Module 3: Collaboration

After 12 years of teaching and being the mother of a 4 year old, I do NOT think it is basic instinct for people to interact and work as a group.  This type of interaction is one that has to be taught at an early age and then practiced in order to be able to successfully work and contribute to the group. 

Think about this.....as a baby/toddler/child, you are content with playing alone and not having to share your toys.  We have to teach our children what it is like to play/work with other children--what the concept of contribution and sharing is and to effectively make it work in each situation.  Each person, no matter what their age, naturally wants for themselves and what feels right to them--the ones that put other first and consider how things will affect others were taught to do so--it was a natural instinct to them.  The individuals that are competitive and only want to be number one, no matter the cost, are behaving natural in their eyes.  This was the instinct they were born with, and no matter who tried to teach them different, they continued with what was natural to them and their personality. 

In today's competitive society and with people being "rewarded" for their competitiveness, it is harder to see people implementing cooperation.  Competitive behavior comes at a high cost--win no matter how many people you physically or emotionally hurt.  Think about a sports event that your child participates in or maybe you participated in and you heard the words, "win no matter what it takes."  We just told our kids to hurt whomever (physically and/or emotionally) and don't bother being a team player--just as long as you win this activity.  As a classroom teacher, I have to always keep in mind that some of my students are hearing this daily and it is my responsibility to fill that gap and teach them that working together--collaborating with one another--is more important than winning.  If I can model and teach my students how to combine competitive, cooperation and collaboration, then maybe they will see that by combining the three you will make others happy and will have a better chance at accomplishing your goal. 

Technology can be used to facilitate collaboration among learners by allowing them to connect with people that from all over, work collaboratively with those individuals and to form a sense of learning that may not have been possible without the use to technology.  Rheingold (2005) recommends capitalizing on the luxuries of technology because they are easy to use, enable distant connections, use open-source software, promote group forming, provide self-instructions, and offer positive self-interest.  All of this is true when it comes to collaborating online. 

According to Burke, Lomas and Page (2008), "when people are asked to define or suggest collaboration tools, audio conference systems and videoconferencing software typically top the list, reflecting a traditional view that collaboration tools should mimic face-to-face meetings in front of a chalkboard."  Although these are great tools and will continue to be on the top of the list, there are so many other collaboration tools that can be used like google docs, twitter, facebook, etc. 

As educators we always need to keep in mind that we need to incorporate and teach our students the importance of collaboration, cooperation and then competitiveness.  Without these three interacting--the classroom and eventually workplace for our students, will be nothing less than chaotic!

Resources:

Burke, M., Lomas, C., and Page, C.  Collaboration Tools.  Educause Learning Initiative, August 2008. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3020.pdf.  Retrieved October 6, 2011. 

 Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html. Retrieved October 6, 2011.