The Tribal Paradise Project was a lesson in faith
As this project and many others have shown, collaborative learning and online discussion forums can be used effectively to help students develop real-world skills and engage in authentic learning. But this project also demonstrates how combining these two teaching practices can yield dramatic results. When students are able to take charge of discussion topics as stakeholders in the outcome of their online discussion, they become motivated to pose questions, resolve conflicts, and Links Of London Necklaces forge consensus, entering a whole new level of interpersonal and online literacy. Directly or indirectly, a collaborative online forum project can also help students learn about the unique challenges of online communication, especially the need for clarity and the dangers of sarcasm. Bringing students together toward the end of a collaborative online project provides a wonderful opportunity for closure and celebration, but it also serves to underscore the personal effects of their online interactions, allowing students to reflect on the assumptions they make about each other and to see the benefits of thoughtful, civil discourse employed for a common goal.
About a week after the Tribal Council, I started a discussion thread on the forum, asking the students to reflect on their work using online communication. Their comments echoed many of my instincts about both the benefits and challenges of using the forums, particularly within collaborative learning environments. Lindsay interpreted her forum experience with an almost Web 2.0 revolutionary zeal:
I personally thought it was the birth of a new innovation, like going from a mop to a Swiffer. With technology, will our thoughts be through our fingers? I think it’s just another alternative that you can choose to do, although it is kind of a scary shock that we’re moving with technology. Positives of this change are that you don’t have to wait to raise your hand waiting for your turn to speak, unlike an oral discussion. Everything keeps moving quicker, and you get to get more done in less time. Plus, you get to see EVERYONE’S opinions, as opposed to in class where some people are scared to raise their hand.
For me—as a language arts educator and especially as an advocate for teaching multiliteracies the Tribal Paradise Project was a lesson in faith: faith in students’ potential to handle complex problems, faith in myself not to melt down in the face of chaos and uncertainty, and faith in the absolutely Links Of London Frendship Bracelets critical value of teaching with technology in collaborative learning environments. Although such work is usually fraught with curricular as well as technological challenges, it can provide rich opportunities for innovative and socially responsive classrooms. The challenge for teachers, as always, will be for us to swallow our fears, hold fast to our faith in what we do, and move forward.
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