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students "gain ownership of their learning" when they are asked to solve a problem collaboratively

were designed specifically to support collaborative learning.

tablets

Groups of older students often collaborate on a wiki, journal, or blog using laptops connected to the same document through Google Apps, he says.

To help teachers become more comfortable with collaborative learning, all teacher professional development in Jefferson County takes place online, and teachers take part in online collaborative work groups.

"No one person can cover nearly as much information or get as many views and opinions as a group working together to develop a common understanding,

using mini-projectors

to promote collaborative learning

The idea is to have four or five students, already equipped with netbooks, collaborating on an assignment, with all of them able to view projected images

the projector will be useful for teacher collaboration,

Plano’s curriculum stresses multitasking in classrooms, which means some students might be working in groups, while others are working individually or listening to the teacher. "To get the most personalized learning," Hirsch said, "everyone shouldn’t be working on the same thing at the same time." He believes mini-projectors could be a "key component of multitasking in the classroom."

ultraportable projectors "have the potential of making a real impact" on teaching 21st-century skills, particularly collaboration.

In a traditional classroom arrangement—with the teacher lecturing at the front of the class—"the group becomes homogenized,

ignoring the passive,

and the more advanced students

The teacher might ask two to four students to come to the front of the room to solve a problem, but the rest are "educational voyeurs,

But when groups of students collaborate together on a project simultaneously, in different parts of the room, "the level of interactivity goes up exponentially,"

on a classroom wall without having to disrupt the rest of the class

when their work is displayed on a projector and the whole group can see it easily, he says, "they are truly working as a group."

each group have a student identified as a facilitator, recorder, and possibly, reflector, with those positions changing from project to project. After a group completes its work, the students can use the projector to share what they’ve learned with the whole class.

"It’s harder for a student to be silent; there is more pressure to participate."

Collaborative projects not only help teach content, but also can help students develop 21st-century skills such as communication, time management, teamwork, and facilitation

With this approach, "the teacher is seen less like an evaluator and more as a coach, facilitator, and mentor. Teachers today need to know how to mix and match those different roles to maximize learning."

Communication and collaboration are among the key skills necessary for succeeding in school and life, as identified by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, along with such skills as critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, flexibility, and media literacy.

The partnership defines collaboration as the ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams, the willingness to compromise to accomplish a common goal, and the ability to share responsibility for collaborative work and to value the individual contributions made by each team member.

"students who work together cooperatively show dramatic increases in academic achievement, self-esteem, and positive social skills."

benefits of collaborative learning

assume ownership of a process and its results

along with their retention of information and interest in the subject matter.

Students’ critical thinking skills improve

allows the assignment of more challenging tasks without making the workload unreasonable.

It provides weaker students with extensive one-on-one tutoring, while stronger students gain the deeper understanding that comes only from teaching others.

Students are less likely to consider teachers the sole sources of knowledge and understanding.

’s essential "to know how to collaborate across a digital learning environment," as well as face to face,

"To be an effective engineer, you have to work collaboratively with engineers in different countries, different time zones, and probably different cultures. That was quite a shock to some of our parents who thought it was enough to be a good student."

using desktop videoconferencing to collaborate globally

Collaboration is "authentic learning," Hobson said, and it is "transformational in that kids see their work is valued beyond the teacher.

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