I do agree with Rheingold, I don’t think we were meant to be alone or to work alone. The first day of school the students are looking for acceptance from someone so that they could be friends. School aged children especially elementary and middle school students completely break down when they’re friends betray them. So I think it’s natural that people want to work collaboratively. Not only does working as a group takes some of the pressure off the individual you have someone that can help you out with ideas, help come up with solutions and also have your back when you need it.
Technology helps facilitate collaboration because it becomes easier to work as a group. Everybody doesn’t have to be in the same place and gather at the same time to get a project done. Through e-mail, Skype, and Google documents and other sources of media it helps getting things done a lot easier and faster.
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Shauna:
ReplyDeleteI believe that humans are social beings, and as such seek relationships. However, I also believe, that some humans prefer to work on their own to accomplish their goals. Therefore, they may have problems working in groups.
Modern technologies do facilitate collaboration. It is therefore necessary for teachers to seek those that will benefit their students most and motivate students to develop collaborative skills. I think that this is a skill that many employers are seeking.
Soushira
Shauna,
ReplyDeleteI agree with both you and Soushira, I do believe some people do pefer to work on their own. But I have witnessed how some students pefer to work as a group, they enjoy the collaboration and lessen of the work load. Technology can both help and hurt collaboration. I know from personal experience that if technology fails then that could make communication and collaboration diffucult. That would be a disadvantage in distance education. In the classroom if there is an issue with technology usually there is a way to work around it. While some students don't want to do group projects, I think it is necessary to build certain skills needed on the job.
Latoya