Module+C+Introduction+to+the+Collaborative+Use+of+Technology

Introduction to the Collaborative Use of Technology

We must adjust and transform the way our students learn. Learning is enriched and deepened when students are working and investigating together. Technology enables a teacher to enlist a range of tools that invites students to work together. A powerful way to deepen the learning is through peer assessment. The collaborative learning spaces can be transformed into sites where students comment on and assess each other's work.

You could utilise any one of the following to achieve this:
 * **Wikis:** [|wikispaces]
 * **Blogs:** [|Edublogs]
 * **Edmodo:** [|Edmodo]
 * **Voicethread**: [|voicethread]
 * **Vyew:** A sharing site for up to ten students at a time: [|vyew]
 * **Google Docs:** Share in real time: [|Google docs] The students can write stories, reports and articles together.
 * **Twitter:** Students can share synthesised ideas and notes quickly and efficiently using Twitter

**Self and peer Assessment** Students gain a deeper understanding of their skills, knowledge and the expected standards when they assess their own and each other's work using explicit marking guidelines and criteria. They develop an ownership of the learning process. //'When students get to see other students' work it deepens understanding of the learning goals'// (Nicol, 2008). When you create an online collaborative sharing place, the students can upload their work and comment on the qualities of each other's work. Read the following articles on the importance of self and peer assessment: