Emerging Educational Technologies

[Page 263]Emerging Collaborative Tools and Methods

A seemingly endless number of educational tools are emerging that can be used by students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Some are installed software while others are Web-based applications. For small- or medium-size groups, Web 2.0 tools allow effective collaboration. Tools include immersive virtual reality and online application sharing. An important caveat with respect to collaboration is that intervening variables—perceptions of others’ capabilities and perception of usefulness of the tool—may affect the effectiveness of a tool within a specific working group.

Installed software is useful for many e-learning applications; it is often cloud based and thus accessible through the Internet. This software allows users to create video demonstrations and software simulations, as well as e-learning modules. The software usually includes a large library of multimedia available for use in conjunction with the software package. Interactive activities allow a user to answer assessment items and get feedback instantly within an appealing interface.

There are hundreds of available online collaborative tools, catering to many different needs and project types. Most of them are free and useful for educational purposes. There are subtypes of collaborative tools based on individual learning styles. Many of these subtypes also apply to individual disciplines. Most allow team members to share work in a controlled manner. Knowledge centers let teams store all the content for a project organized in one cloud location. Design tools support multiple types of design models. This type of tool enables the creation of flowcharts, wireframes, and concept maps. Video conferencing tools and blogs are useful for collaboration and meetings anywhere, anytime. Free video conferencing Web software can be used to create a website or blog. Blogs make it possible to give feedback quickly and informally. Blogs have many advantages over e-mail; for example, a blog comment is usually less intrusive to others’ schedules than a formal e-mail. This is because a blog can be read at any time and doesn’t require a response from any particular person. The formatting of a blog comment is less formal than a professional e-mail. In addition, the information is accessible to the entire working group, allowing everyone in the group to reuse it in other works such as professional reports. Table 1 lists examples of tools, types, and methods and includes URLs for representatives of various types of tools.