Promoting effective collaboration in the classroom with technology

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A classroom where learners build positive relationships, share ideas and solve problems together is one with deep engagement. Schools also need to prepare learners for a future career, and an essential skill for any job is the ability to collaborate with others. While there are many ways to support collaboration in the classroom, technology can take it to another level. Technology can make collaborative experiences more innovative, while also streamlining workflows for educators.

In this blog post, we’ll cover technology tools that will help you promote collaborative learning in the classroom.

The power of collaborative learning

What collaborative learning means

Collaborative learning (also known as cooperative learning) occurs when students work in pairs or in small groups to brainstorm, share perspectives, solve problems or research. The goal is for each learner to participate and be engaged. You can ask learners to form their own groups based on shared interests, or you can create groups that include learners with a mix of interests or abilities. 

Why collaborative learning in the classroom is important

Cornell University writes, “Research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning.”

Student collaboration in the classroom builds self-confidence, social and emotional skills, leadership capabilities and higher-level thinking skills. Experiences in the classroom need to prepare learners for life beyond school. By working with classmates, they gain skills that will help them become a successful team member in any career they choose. 

Five benefits of collaborative learning

There are several benefits of collaborative learning. Here are five of the most valuable benefits.

1. Builds relationships

When learners are placed in groups and asked to discuss, research, solve problems, investigate or create something new, they get an opportunity to build relationships with their peers. They learn how to share responsibilities, take on roles and treat each other with respect.

2. Encourages active listening

Collaboration also gives learners practice with active listening. Harvard Business Review wrote that active listening requires empathy and self-awareness. “It turns a conversation into an active, non-competitive, two-way interaction.” With scaffolding and opportunities to practice, learners can start to develop this skill.

3. Improves communication skills

Working in a team also gives learners a chance to develop communication skills. Many learners may struggle with this at first, but they need a chance to practice these skills in school so they can communicate appropriately at a job.

4. Promotes critical thinking

In a collaborative environment, learners hear new perspectives, causing them to reexamine their own. By discussing, tackling problems and exploring concepts together, learners evaluate ideas and create new ones.

5. Activates engagement

Collaborative learning gives students the chance to be in the driver’s seat. They are the ones leading their learning and being accountable for what is happening in their group. This leads to greater engagement and a connection to the class material.

Technology tools that foster collaboration

Getting Smart notes that the future of work “is collaborative. Learning to work collaboratively and deliver value as a member of a project team is one of the most important success skills.”  To add to that, technology gives learners real-world experience, so combining technology and collaboration is even more worthwhile. 

The following technology tools will give learners the opportunity to more easily collaborate and show their creativity.

1. Google Docs, Slides, Drawings

Learners can show their understanding in a variety of ways with shared Google files. Check out these ideas for incorporating Google Docs.

2. Padlet

Padlet allows learners to collaborate on a digital board or sandbox to visually showcase what they know.

3. Seesaw

Seesaw is a digital portfolio or learning journal for K-6 students. They can view each other’s work and add peer feedback.

4. ScreenPal

ScreenPal allows you to capture screen recordings and share them. Learners could use this tool for group activities and projects.

5. BookCreator

BookCreator is another type of digital portfolio where learners can create a book of their learning using multimedia. Educators and other learners can also collaborate on the books.

6. CoSpaces Edu

CoSpaces Edu allows learners to build virtual 3-D models and collaborate on projects.

7. Soundtrap

Soundtrap is a tool for creating music and podcasts, which is great for student groups who gravitate to an auditory learning style.

8. Canva for Education

Canva for Education allows educators and learners to design group projects, infographics, posters and even video.

9. Hāpara Teacher Dashboard

Hāpara Teacher Dashboard shows educators all of the Google Docs, Forms, Drawings and Sheets that learners recently accessed, including collaborative files. Educators can quickly preview a file and then leave formative feedback for group members to see. 

Directly from Teacher Dashboard, educators can also share or create collaborative Google files with group members.

10. Hāpara Highlights

Hāpara Highlights helps educators with classroom management when learners are online. Educators can send out website links and Google Classroom content directly to groups. These will open instantly on the group members’ Chrome browsers.

This tool also gives educators visibility into what learners are doing online during class time. This includes a “Collaboration” window that shows educators which websites or files learners are accessing as groups — or haven’t accessed.

11. Hāpara Workspace

Collaboration in the classroom is much easier with Hāpara Workspace. This interactive platform pulls together all of the learning content for a lesson, project or unit. Educators can create differentiated student groups and share collaborative resources and assessments with them.

Braedon Spanton, an educator in the Ottawa Catholic School Board, uses Workspace for collaboration and keeping his class content organized. He loves that it gives learners a shared spot to collaborate on class activities. This school board also uses Workspace for teacher collaboration to co-create lessons and units.

In fact, in Workspace, educators can link to any of the technology tools we mentioned! They can also upload Google Slides, Docs, Sheets or Drawings or create new Google files directly from Workspace.

Tips for implementing collaborative technology

When choosing which technology tools to use for student collaboration, there are a few things to consider and put in place to ensure success.

Key considerations for selecting technology for collaboration

Here are some considerations for selecting collaborative technology to adopt in your school or district.

1. It needs to be easy to use.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board uses Hāpara Workspace for collaborative learning (and teaching collaboration, too). Heather Bilder says, “Collaboration is one of the global competencies that we’re really looking to build and foster in our students. And Workspace just makes that so easy.”

2. It should support differentiation.

Collaborative technology in the classroom should also allow for differentiation — educators should be able to use the tool to support groups based on academic ability, interests or learning style. For instance, Hāpara Workspace, Teacher Dashboard and Highlights allow educators to easily create student groups and support differentiation in a variety of ways. 

In Workspace, educators can create collaborative learning resources, activities and assessments for groups and easily share them with groups. In Teacher Dashboard, educators can give formative feedback to groups and share collaborative Google files with them. In Highlights, educators can instantly share links or Google Classroom content directly with groups.

3. It should allow for flexibility.

If your school or district invests in a technology tool, educators should be able to use it in their own way for collaboration. It needs to be flexible enough to meet any educators’ needs and work across subjects and grade levels. 

Strategies for promoting positive student group dynamics

When you ask learners to work in pairs or small groups, there are strategies that will help them have a positive experience.

1. Make the goals clear to all learners.

In any type of activity it’s important for learners to clearly understand what the goal is, but this is especially crucial when learners are working together. In Workspace, educators can add goals to the first column. The teacher can make these goals visible to the entire class or specific groups.

2. Set guidelines about how to work together.

Educators also need to share guidelines for how to communicate during partner and group work, how to build on ideas, how to respectfully disagree and how to share responsibilities. 

Educators can add these guidelines to a Hāpara Workspace or share a Google file in Teacher Dashboard. If learners need a reminder while collaborating, in Hāpara Highlights educators can send an “Announcement” to groups or the class or share a link to a resource.

3. Give each learner a role in the group.

In a group activity or discussion, here are role possibilities that will give learners clear direction:

• Facilitator who manages the activity or discussion
• Notetaker who keeps a list of discussion points, ideas and responses
• Time keeper who ensures the team stays on task
• Prioritizer who makes sure everyone sticks to the topic
• Reporter who presents to the class
• Reviewer who double-checks that the team’s responses are backed up with evidence
• Questioner who asks the team to think more deeply and offers other perspectives

4. Use real-world tasks.

Pair and group activities are also more meaningful if learners tackle real-world issues. For instance, this middle school Workspace asks pairs and groups to explore several digital citizenship scenarios that apply to their age group. 

Examples of collaborative learning activities

There are many ways to incorporate technology and collaboration in the classroom. Here are a few that boosted engagement in my own classroom, plus some that have been successful for other educators.

1. Literature circles

My seventh grade ELA class read novels in groups and met in collaborative literature circles to discuss ideas, analyze vocabulary and the plot and evaluate character motivations. In Hāpara Workspace, you can add differentiated prompts and activities that are only visible to group members. You can also easily share collaborative Google Docs with them where they can add their group responses.

2. Collaborative timelines

My seventh grade social studies class focused on medieval world history, and I was determined to make it engaging. One area where learners struggled was understanding which events across the world were taking place at the same time. A project that deepened their understanding was collaborative timelines. Over a semester, learners developed timelines in groups, pinpointing major events and creating graphics to match the events. This allowed them to see cause and effect and patterns that developed. Plus, even though they had to dig into books and find evidence, they were engaged with the material and able to gain relationship skills.

In Hāpara Workspace, you can add learning standards for the project, instructions, links to reliable resources and link to a timeline creator. Learners could even collaborate in a shared Google Drawing or Google Sheets. 

If a group needs help researching events, in Hāpara Highlights, you can also send a link that will immediately open on the group members’ devices.

3. Video projects

There will likely be several learning styles in your class, and some students will gravitate toward video projects. In an eighth grade ELA class, my learners explored collaborative projects of their choice based on a historical fiction novel. With a partner or small group, they were able to study any related topic to the novel as long as it included a research component. Then they had to present a final collaborative project of their choice. Some groups chose video projects, and because they were engaged, the results were impressive and creative. 

In Hāpara Workspace, you can add a card that asks learners to upload their video file or add a link to the video. Because learners can add their own media, Workspace becomes a truly collaborative space.

4. Audio projects

Some groups may want to pursue audio projects such as creating a song that ties into class material or a collaborative podcast episode. They could even interview community members. Simply add the learning standards and resources to Hāpara Workspace, and ask groups to upload their audio files to the class Workspace where you can assess it.

5. Hands-on STEM activities

When Heather Rentz was an innovation coach at Buffalo Trail Public Schools, she brought robotics and coding into classrooms. Fifth grade groups used circuit boards to sew, and ninth grade groups used robots to go through obstacle courses. These collaborative activities helped students excited about learning and even pushed one group to start their own coding project.