Some of the reasons teachers should collaboratively plan for student success are that when a team of individuals are committed to achieving a goal, there are more perspectives, ideas and strategies that can accomplish that goal more efficiently and effectively. When teachers collaborate they also model the collaborative steps for students who will need to have these skills when they enter adulthood and larger society (i.e. business, medicine, social service, economics and many other professions).
There is a great deal of technology out ‘there’ that is free and encourages collaboration. Here are just a few free Apps I could see myself using next year:
Then there is Blogging for professional collaboration and growth. Blogging can increase collegial engagement and awareness and begin conversations that lead to collaboration.
There is a great deal of technology out ‘there’ that is free and encourages collaboration. Here are just a few free Apps I could see myself using next year:
- PaperPort Notes: Free for iPad. You can combine web content, audio, typed text and documents into one document that can be shared with anyone. This would assist collaboration if someone on a team can’t make a meeting, but could then catch up on missed information. For teachers willing to collaborate, but who have busy schedules.
- ShowME Interactive Whiteboard: Free for iPad. This would be an amazing way a teacher could share, say, a Project Based Learning activity with other colleagues. You record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and then share them on-line. They can be as long or short as needed and you can import photos and video. Once shared, colleagues can add, comment or ask questions.
- Post-it: This is a free App for iOS, which “takes the momentum from your collaboration sessions and keeps it rolling.” The App lets the user take photos of real Post-it Notes used at a collaborative meeting and these are arranged and organized as needed. Then, the organized boards with Post-its are shared and team members can create or edit notes or combine boards from other collaborative sessions. Ideas can be built on with this App.
- Stage Interactive whiteboard and Document Camera: This is a free App for iPad or iPhone. The App would let a teacher film them selves teaching, take photos of resources, worksheets, examples, exemplars and then be able to write on the images to further explain or point out an important detail. Collaboratively sharing ideas and strategies can be done without sub-costs this way.
- Nearpod: This is a free App for iPads, iPhones, iPods and Macs. It would allow colleagues to collaborate in real-time if they chose while one teacher is teaching. Classes in different schools could collaboratively learn this way; using the strengths and knowledge of teachers in the same course to teach different units—co-teaching if you will.
- SAS Gloss: This is a free App for iOS. I think the benefits for collaboration for math are that a teacher could teach a lesson involving graphing and graph paper and another teacher has the option to add a layer of ‘gloss’ to the graph by adding text, images or drawings to support student learning and ultimately, collegial learning as well.
Then there is Blogging for professional collaboration and growth. Blogging can increase collegial engagement and awareness and begin conversations that lead to collaboration.
- What is a blog and why blog? (/what-is-a-blog-why-blog.html)
- Blogs for Professional and Personal Growth: (/blog-for-personal-and-professional-growth.html)
- Some blogging suggestions and examples: (/blogging-suggestions-and-examples.html)
- Options for blogging: (/options-for-blogging-html)