Theme: The contribution of educational technologies in advancing a discourse competence of general school pupils Contents

Communication and Collaboration

Collaboration and communication are interpersonal skills that help people work well with one another. Collaboration and communication involve being able to read the vast number of verbal and nonverbal cues that we all use to communicate our ideas and emotions. People need to learn to build shared understanding, negotiate outcomes, and cultivate trust to work together to solve the problems that no one can solve alone. With teaching practices and resources going virtual, the need for effective communication between student and educators increases significantly. It is important for educators to be able to communicate with students using multiple communication channels. Virtual communication methods include email, tele-conference, and video-conference. These methods support one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many communication. Open-source communication software, such as Skype and Google Hangouts, allow educators and students to communicate in real time. Some sites provide screen-sharing services along with video conferencing abilities (e.g., GoToMeeting5). Educators also need to communicate with the class as a whole. Forums, discussion boards, and wikis are usually used as group communication methods. Courses with collaborative components are designed to encourage the communication among students. Such courses need effective communication platforms to support virtual collaboration. Collaborative platforms, such as CATME (Loughry et al., 2014), foster team learning. Question answering platforms, such as Piazza,6 are developed to help students ask question, as well as answer them. These platforms offer effective ways to engage student in and out of class. They support collaborative learning and community building. However, such platforms often require active and intense moderation to ensure that students are provided with a constructive environment that encourages exploration of concepts, they are supportive of each other, and are receiving the right response.

Project-based learning (PBL) lesson plans incorporate learning into students’ daily lives. These lesson plans are built upon a strong four Cs foundation. Some strategies for PBL learning include: •Getting students involved in a community project. For example, you might ask students to plan a volunteer project, write about why that project is a good idea, and then work together to get the community involved.

•Helping students lobby for an issue they care about by writing their legislator, attending local meetings, or penning an op-ed.

•Asking students to collaboratively develop a list of potential class projects, then doing their favorites from the list.

No matter what your students do with their lives, they will need to think critically and creatively. They’ll need to work with others and effectively communicate. Project-based learning is one of the most effective ways to help your students master these skills. This pedagogical style teaches students in a real-world context, rather than forcing them to memorize information divorced from their real lives. It’s fun. It works. It can be adapted to any educational goals. It might even reignite your students’ love of learning and your passion for teaching.

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