DANIELLE MOTT'S EDUCATIONAL PORTFOLIO - Home



Collaboration tools are important for any educational and work place setting. Learning from one another in real time has become such a necessity in the 21st Century. We can share pictures, documents, schedules, projects, music, theories, research and more. Teachers are always looking for ways to differentiate their instruction and allow creativity and collaboration whenever possible. I have found two very helpful webpages that have recently posted articles about online collaboration tools and their uses.The first is entitled Docurated. From this site I read an article entitled, 102 Free (or Free-to-try) Online Collaborative Learning Tools for Teachers and Educators.The second web site is called and the post was entitled, 6 Free Easy-to-Use Online Collaboration Tools-Make Teamwork Simple.II am now going to discuss and evaluate 3 of the sources listed and reviewed in Docurated and . Because I am a public school teacher, I am interested in resources that can be used by a variety of students with different abilities and that are free and easy to use. I am also fortunate to be part of a district that values and funds grade level teaming and subject-based teaming. My colleagues and I meet frequently but some of the work must completed outside of the meetings. Collaboration tools are important in these situations. Trello is a free web tool that allows participants to create and manage agendas and checklists outside of meetings. First you create a project title and then create project component cards under the title. The component cards might be arranged in a way to show progress through a project. First there may be a list of brainstorming cards were each participant can through down ideas. Next, teams might progress to a column of cards that show ideas for editing. Finally, teams can post cards/ideas for final review. The component cards allow you to chat with project teammates, assign teammates to tasks, embed videos, attach websites, etc. Cards or tasks can be moved from one column to another and new cards are easily added at any stage. I feel that this is essentially an agenda making tool that my colleagues and I could use when planning a project based learning experience (PBL). Instead of waiting for a meeting, teammates could instantly access the Trello website and navigate to the project created. Another great thing about Trello is that it is a web based tool so it can be accessed through any device. Trello also adjusts its interface for multiple different devices so that accessibility and readability doesn’t become a problem. When using an iPad or other touch device you can simply delete components by swiping to the left. In thinking about student groups, I could see this application used in student groups like STUCO and the Yearbook Committee. Facilitators of these groups could help students manage projects and deadlines with any device available and in such a way that encourages collaboration and sharing. I thought it fitting to include the host of this blog into my collaborative tools post. has allowed my peers, instructor and I to share and offer comments and feedback over class assignments this semester. WordPress is very versatile in that users can create a unique style and design to their page, upload media with ease, and organize posts into categories. It is free for basic use. Just about any classroom project or media creation can be shared and archived on a WordPress post. In the 2015-2016 school year, I plan for students to create their own blog. I will help students use their blog to achieve a few goals.Reflections and Questions: Each week students conduct scientific investigations in class. Much of the work is done in collaborative groups but time doesn’t often allow for group share of data or learning experiences. Students will, therefore, log onto their WordPress blog in order to answer reflection questions that I post. They will also be asked to read and evaluate other posts at the same time. I will begin with one weekly post.Display Background Research: Students will be able to gather information prior to an investigation and post what they have learned for classmates to see. Display Projects and Classwork Respond to Teacher FeedbackCanva Canva is an amazing creativity tool used for graphic design. It is currently in beta. Individuals can create a free online account that plays well with IOS devices, PCs and Macs. Canva allows the user to take information and design a flyer, poster, card, or infographic. Users will find that they can choose from hundreds fonts, designs, and colors to make their project special. Photo editing is available and easy. With the use of iPads in our middle school students could easily start a project at school and finish it from home. Canva creations are easy to share and can be edited by teammates. Creations can be posted for review on . I find that middle school students thrive on creativity and design. As a teacher and mentor, I would have to insist on the completion of research and writing before giving my students access to Canva because they could get lost in color and wonder and forget the content. ................
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