Collaborative Learning is part of the gradual release of responsibility in which groups of students assume the responsibility for their own learning and that of their peers.  Here, as they learn, skills such as communication, leadership, and negotiation are developed.  This is an area where digital tools really shine.  In fact, the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE) says, "digital age skills are vital for preparing students to work, live, and contribute to their social and civic fabric of their communities.

There are a variety of ways that digital tools can come into play, here.  For example, students can use digital collaborative tools to show their understanding of concepts.  Digital tools may also be used as a collaborative medium for communication.  Below are some examples of tools in both categories to help you get started.

There are so many tool options out there, that choosing the best one can be daunting.  Rather than getting too caught up on that, focus on what it is you want groups to learn.  What are the desired outcomes?  Consider outlining these clearly and letting students choose the tool!

Digital Tools for Collaborative Creation

Google Apps

Our standard, go-to platform, district-wide is Google Apps for Education.  The platform was built for collaboration.  Multiple students can work together on a document (Google Docs), a presentation (Google Slides), a data spreadsheet (Google Sheets), and more.  All that's needed is for a one student to simply start the document and add collaborators.  It's a good idea to have them add you, the teacher, as well, so that you can follow their progress and use the commenting tool to give feedback.

Student-Created Video

Video is one of the best mediums for learning projects.  With the rise of smart phones and resources like  YouTube, creating and publishing content to the Web is easier than ever.  Our BYOD policy allows for students to leverage their personally-owned devices for learning, so capturing and editing video footage is easier than ever.  Likewise, video can easily be uploaded to YouTube or Google Drive for easy sharing.  Videos can be detailed and highly-edited, documentary-like, interviews, screencasts, or even selfie-like video logs (vlogs).  

Infographics/Images/Posters

Creating digital images to demonstrate learning is another great method to encourage collaboration.  Tools like Canva and Piktochart can support the creation of eye-catching images and infographics, however, even something as simple as Google Slides and Google Draw can be used effectively.

Digital Tools for Collaborative Communication

For some activities, paper, pencils, markers, etc., are the best collaborative tools to use, however, there are times when your students need to be able to do more and times when you want to truly capture their interactions.  There are many digital tools that can work beautifully, here.  

Discussion Boards/Forums

One of the most under-utilized tools are the discussion boards in PowerSchool Learning (Haiku).  These encourage both writing and thoughtful back-and-forth communication between students.  Check out Mastering Online Discussion Board Facilitation from Edutopia for tips and strategies with discussion forums.

Seesaw, Edmodo, etc.

New tools to support collaborative learning hit the scene each year.  Edmodo has been a standby resource for educators wanting to capture a Facebook-like feel for classroom collaboration.  It's free and easy to get started with it.  More recently, Seesaw has emerged and is growing rapidly in popularity as a platform supporting student sharing and interaction.

Chat Rooms

One interesting strategy is to encourage students to engage in a live discussion using a chat room.  This is often effective with students who may not feel comfortable speaking out in class during a verbal discussion.  It's a good idea to establish the rules of the chat ahead of time and you may wish to appoint students as community moderators/support.  Tools like Today's Meet allow you to create "disposable" chat rooms for projects like this.  Check out Matt Miller's suggestions on how to leverage this tool for learning.

How This Connects to SAMR

Digital tools for collaboration can enhance the learning process in so many way.  They allow students to communicate with each other as they work together and learn socially.  At the very minimum these tools typically Augment the learning process, bringing new functionality to more traditional paper/pencil alternatives.  In many cases these tools have the potential to transform the learning experience in ways that functionally Modify or even Redefine learning outcomes.