Blog 4 - Emerging Technology that Supports Communication and Collaboration

I have always struggled with how to implement effective communication and collaborative tasks (aka group work) into my classroom. This chapter provided a lot of great information - albeit dense - on how to effectively plan, develop, and analyze the tasks.

One thing that I especially liked was the information given on planning effective projects. Since "the planning stage is the most crucial for creating a successful project," I think that this is the area that teachers should spend a considerable amount of time addressing (Egbert, 2009). Within the chapter, Egbert provides a table in which she outlines the steps for planning, developing, and analyzing"technology-supported communication" (Egbert, 2009).

During the planning stage, Egbert states that "teachers should make sure that the process and outcomes are specific, relevant, and based on goals" (2009). I think that sometimes teachers get wrapped up in creating a project, merely for the sake of doing something different from the normal routine. It's so important that we, first of all, look at the goal/objectives that we hope to address through the instruction. Then we look at creating assignments that meet these goals. Without the goal, the assignment is pointless.

When developing a project, we should "observe students and make change in the project as necessary to meet student needs and curricular goals" (Egbert, 2009). Sometimes, when a teacher has spent ample time creating a project, he/she has a blind eye to the weaknesses of the assignment. It's critical that we are able to view the project from an outsider's perspective and make changes as needed from day-to-day or even from segment-to-segment. I know that I have had to alter an assignment from one segment to the next, and I imagine that I'm not alone in this.

Finally, a point that I felt was so critical to the successful implementation of a project, is that "analysis ... should be conducted by all participants. Participants should also take part in evaluation" (Egbert, 2009). This is a critical way to give the students ownership of the assignment and their role in it. Egbert goes on to encourage teachers to wrap up the assignment through "appropriate closure" activities (2009). The closure is so often neglected once the assignment is complete. I think that putting the materials away is the idea of closure for some teachers, but it's important that we provide a summation of the activity so that our students know the "why" behind the assignment.

Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.