Collaboration

Today's technology has opened up a whole new world for student collaboration. No longer are students limited to working solely with their fellow classmates. Students today are collaborating with students from around the globe. Below is a list of tools that are great to use when considering a collaboration project for your classroom.

Wikis - a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified text editor.

Skype - software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users.

TypeWith.me - a web-based word processor that allows people to work together in really real-time. When multiple people edit the same document simultaneously, any changes are instantly reflected on everyone's screen. The result is a new and productive way to collaborate on text documents, useful for meeting notes, drafting sessions, education, team programming, and more.

[|Wallwisher] - online collaboration tool that allows users to publish sticky notes to a wall....like electronic graffiti but in a good way! Post a topic and let people enter their thoughts. You can post pictures and video as well and people can comment on them. It is also a great brainstorming tool.

[|TodaysMeet] - allows you to quickly create a "chat room" where people can interact in real time about a topic. Many presenters use this so audience members can "chat" about the topic being presented. TodaysMeet helps you embrace the backchannel and connect with your audience in realtime. Encourage people to use the live stream to make comments or ask questions and then use that feedback to tailor your presentation, sharpen your points, and address audience needs.

Google Docs allows you to create basic documents from scratch or start from a template. You can easily do all the basics, including making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more. Upload your existing files. Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc.

Stixy a flexible, online “bulletin board”/drawing board. There’s little structure and it’s up to you how you want to use it, so it’s a great whiteboarding application. One of the useful ways to use Stixy is mocking up or wireframing web pages – your team member or clients can then go in and modify the design or post notes on particular aspects of the design.

Project 2 Manage a fully-featured, free, hosted solution for project management and collaboration. You can set up different roles and permissions to limit what each team members see, write in your milestones to show everyone your goals, and be able to manage unlimited projects.

Bubbl.us a free, web-based application for collaborative brainstorming. You can create beautiful mind maps that you can share with team members. You can save, email, and print your mind maps or even embed them directly onto a web page.

Dabbleboard a robust, online whiteboard that’s easy to use. Use Dabbleboard to create wire frames of your user interface, draw flow charts, and create network diagrams, among other things. You can create Toolkits (a set of reusable drawing objects) or use pre-made Toolkits

Twiddla a free, web-based meeting playground. Twiddla is an exceptional, no-hassle whiteboard solution for collaborating online. You can browse websites and draw on them, share files, and chat with your team. There’s even an “audio” option so you can communicate verbally (great for people who don’t draw well). Whether you’re critiquing a design or surfing the web for design inspiration, you’ll definitely find a use for Twiddla.

Wetpaint a freeform collaboration application that brings in features from wikis, blogs, forums, and social networks. Because it’s simple to use and requires no technical expertise, it’s an excellent platform for generating content from different sources which you can use “as-is” or on your website.