Whether our classes are online or face-to-face, our students can benefit from the use of collaborative tools. Collaborative tools may be used for peer editing, group projects, and class discussions. These tools are great for working synchronously during a class session or asynchronously according to the time each student has available. Using collaborative tools in coursework is good practice for future workplace collaboration. Many tools are easy to use, some require no account setup, and some tools may even be embedded in your Blackboard course. Below are just a few of the many collaborative tools available.
Canva – Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design website. Collaborate on professional-looking infographics, documents, presentations, comic strips, and marketing materials. There is a free version and a paid version, however much can be done with the free version.
Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, & Forms – Many students in K-12 schools use G-Suite tools, so a number of our current and future students are already accustomed to collaborating with these tools – some begin doing so in Kindergarten. The products are user-friendly, so new users can adapt quickly. Collaborators may work simultaneously and see changes in real-time. In Google Docs there is a chat feature, version history, and for peer review, a comments feature. A bonus – student work will be available to the students long after graduation. For collaboration, these need to be shared with the setting “anyone with the link may edit.”
Office 365 products may available to students for free. These documents also may be shared for collaboration. To embed in Blackboard, click File, Share, and Embed. Copy the embed code. Create an item in Blackboard and click on HTML, then paste in the embed code. Those with JBU accounts will be able to edit. Bonus – The ITS Help Desk provides support for these tools.
Padlet – Create attractive collaborative boards, documents, and web pages. Students may create them, collaborate, and share. Or the instructor may create them and embed them in Blackboard for everyone to contribute to. Text, photos, documents, web links, video, and music may be added to the boards. There is a free version and a paid version, however much can be done using the free version.
Zoom – Not only is Zoom for web-conferencing great for synchronous online class sessions or for hosting remote students and guest speakers for face-to-face classes, but Zoom is also great for small group collaboration. Consider using the break-out room feature during online or blended synchronous class sessions or you might use Zoom for small group meetings at the student’s convenience. Zoom allows for sharing documents, web pages, a whiteboard, and slides – perfect for collaborating. Class sessions, meetings, and group presentations may also be recorded, however, recordings are not available for break-out room activities.
These are just a few of the collaborative tools available. Many online applications now have the capability of adding collaborators.
Catalyst 