Indeed, interactions of the human race outside of third world countries have dramatically evolved over the last two decades. Communications as a whole has changed significantly along with this evolution. In America, the U.S. Postal Service, or snail mail as many would call it today, has became far less popular and given way to electronic mail (e-mail) for obvious reasons. Cellular telephones have become very much mobile devices that, with a good provider, allow the customer to speak to folks from just about anywhere. And computer communications have taken giant leaps forward with the introduction and wide acceptance of Web 2.0 tools such as text-based chat-rooms, discussion boards, instant messaging, blogs, and wiki’s to name a few. Furthermore, better audio and compressed video qualities have opened up substantial opportunities for supporting computer based human interactions using both asynchronous and synchronous communications and has allowed for even better quality collaboration efforts in all sectors including business, military, and education. YouTube and Skype are common place in presentations and collaborations between different numbers of participants. Though some bugs need to be exterminated in these two forms of video-based technology, that is sure to happen and the future looks even brighter.
All in all, computer-based multi-media communications technologies have evolved and improved so much that it is now easy to get multiple intellectual responses from experts around the world of just about any topic under the sun (Laureate, 2008). With this in mind it is easy to see how human interactions and collaborative efforts have evolved from being restrained by time and place to anytime/anywhere efforts using computer-based communications and mobile technologies.
Ray Schroader shares in his blog that principles of interaction and collaboration are at the core of innovative teaching and learning (Ray, 2008). In an earlier post to Merlot (Multimedia Educational Recourse for Learning and Online Teaching) concerning collaboration he says, “Wouldn’t it be great to have access to some of the lectures, simulations, and other objects that our good colleagues developed elsewhere in the world” (2008)? Since this was posted on his blog three years ago, this seems to have become a reality to many higher education students and teachers. Higher education has seen advancements in collaboration efforts amongst teachers and students and my hope is that K-12 environments will pick up on this. It is my contention that this is indeed necessary for these younger educational environments to get out of old-school industrialized learning practices that currently still have the American system of education regressing.
Jim Vanides relays that the real goal of collaborative learning, or learning together, is developing the skills needed for lifelong learning (the HP Blog Hub, 2010). That is, to create career like opportunities and to participate in Communities of Practice (2010). At the K-12 levels, interactive collaborations develop skills needed to be successful in undergraduate studies. More of these similar efforts in undergraduate studies will develop necessary skills for graduate studies or even entry level positions of employment. By then, collaborative learners should surely have the personal and interpersonal skills and the upper hand if you will to be competitive in their career fields. I feel it is an evolutionary process that really never ends and only gets better with more practice. If learners come in with the attitudes of learning something new every day about how to deal with different collaborators, be they friends or foes, it is my opinion that all options will be assessed and that the true value of the topic at hand will eventually surface.
Check out the links below to view more from these professional blogs.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). The future of distance education. [Video webcast]. Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5701360&Survey=1&47=9580570&ClientNodeID=984645&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
