Collaborative Interactions

The changes that have affected a business and educational institute over the last two decades have been astounding.  I remember when collaborative interactions with individuals in another building or even across the country meant that you either flew out to the place or everyone was crowded around a fuzzy speaker phone.  The phone was great, but it was easy for attitudes and intentions to be misconstrued or the difficulty in trying to visualize a concept.  As a teacher, I value the times when I am able to interact with my fellow teachers, whether in my building or across the country or world.  I am able to learn much from them.

One of the biggest changes in the past couple of years for interactions has been the advent of Twitter and the groups that are formed on there.  I belong to Edutopia.  This is a group that communicates through Twitter and blogs about ongoing education changes and reform.  The blog on July 8, 2010 titled: Igniting Innovation in Education through Collaboration (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/edchat-education-reform-rob-jacobs)  examines the how online interactions can help a teacher in the classroom and even how a business can be successful with collaboration.  The blog refers to "crowdsourcing" which allows the interactions from anyone who has a desire to learn more about the subject, they do not have to be an expert in the field or use the equipment and technology, just be passionate about the subject.

The Titan File Blog, https://www.titanfile.com/blog/online-collaboration-building-a-bright-future-for-higher-education/, has many posts about effective collaboration.  This particular blog refers to the need for effective collaboration with higher education online courses.  Students are separated by large distances, so they need a chance to communicate.  This can be done through online discussions set up by the instructor or by Skype or other technologies, but it is necessary for the students to be successful.