Week 9 Online Collaboration

Most of the online collaboration tools were new to me. The Commoncraft video helped to explain the concept to me. Previously, I had experienced the problem with managing multiple emails while working with a committee to produce a report. I can see now how these online collaboration tools would have made things much easier.
I already had a Google account but had not explored the Docs option. When school starts next fall, I will be joining a group that has developed e-Porfolios for students. The Doc. application will be very useful for students working on group projects. This year, we had a public folder on our school server where students posted collaborative work. After someone tampered with many files, extra steps to protect student work had to be put in place. Using the GoogleDoc feature, access to student work can be limited to only those who need to see it.
Our students don't have too many projects where they use flow charts. I loved the mind mapping tools. I had fun creating topics and subtopics lists; then seeing them change into a visual depiction. These will be especially useful for students who are visual learners or reluctant readers. The ability to make connections in a visual form can apply to many disciplines. In the past, some English teachers have had students draw story webs. History and science teachers can use these tools to show cause and effects or relationships between events/concepts.
The Web 2.0 Awards allow novices to see the best new sites. I probably never would have found these on my own. I explored the best sites for books and genealogy.
It seems like many of these applications that we have been learning about started out as business oriented ones. In time, education and library/information science professionals have adapted them to their needs. There is a lot of reciprocity among these disciplines as teachers and librarians prepare students to use skills and technologies in the business world. Schools and public libraries need to be familiar with the web 2.0 tools as they work with students and the public. Schools are starting to include these tools in various courses. Public libraries may use these applications in house or in contact with other libraries, but offering courses in these applications to the general public can be another way that public libraries reach out to their communities.