6. Collaboration ICT tools
Dear Friend,
During the last two units, you had the chance to discover tools that promote the dissemination of information and cooperation between stakeholders in the same project. In this unit, we will present the things that can allow you and your peers to work simultaneously on the same document or application.
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- Define collaboration tools;
- Explain the functionalities of Google Drive and wikis;
- Understand the usefulness of each of these tools from a pedagogical point of view.
You will need approximately 30 minutes to complete this unit.
1. Description of collaboration tools
Collaboration tools have the advantage of enabling several people to work on the same project, document or application. Already very widespread in companies, these tools appear to have gained place in the area of teaching as well, as they are likely to facilitate team work, especially if the team is meeting virtually.
Collaboration tools offer the following advantages:
- Improved productivity despite geographical restrictions;
- Reduction in time and communication costs;
- Access information in real time;
- Improvement in innovation and team work;
- Option to safeguard knowledge.
2. Google Drive
Google offers different tools to facilitate group collaboration. Google Drive is a good solution for those who must work on the same document at the same time.
The functionalities of Google Drive are:
- to create documents online, directly on Google Drive. The main functionalities of Microsoft software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are included;
- to import files from your computer onto your Google space or vice versa;
- to share all sorts of documents: work documents, list of tasks, presentations;
- to control access to documents: you can choose to grant different access levels to your colleagues (read only or editors);
- to organise your tools in a personal way, regardless of the rating of colleagues who use the same documents;
- to publish documents online, on your professional blog for example, to make them public.
How to use Google Drive?
- Create a Gmail address;
- Select the Google Drive option on the top left-hand side of the standard Google page;
- Create or import your documents;
- Share your documents: select the document to share, click on share, give the Gmail addresses of the required people, specify if you want them to be collaborators or read only. Recipients only have to click on the link they receive in an email to access the shared document.
To facilitate use of Google Drive, Google has developed an application to download onto your Desktop. The application offers the following advantages:
- Creation of documents, spreadsheets and presentations; lets several users work on the same document with modifications appearing in real time;
- Configuration of access to documents by the user: by determining who can see, modify or comment on shared documents;
- Monitoring: Google Drive lets you keep track of successive versions of modified documents. It is possible to return to modifications implemented during the last 30 days.
Click on the following link to access a tutorial on using Google Drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i125gM-UAoY.
Activity 1. Google Drive
You can register on Google Drive by clicking on the following link: http://www.google.com/intl/en/drive/.
Once you are registered, we recommend that you perform several tasks in order to learn more about this application. Create a document, preferably related to mobility (a project plan or budget analysis, for example). Then share the document with your colleagues and invite them to work on it together. They will develop the subject, insert modifications or leave their comments.
3. Wikis
A wiki is an early type of collaborative site, in which visitors have the opportunity to participate in content creation. The world's most visited wiki is Wikipedia.
Wiki pages generally include buttons such as Modify and History. The first enables content modification while the second enables retracing of all successive versions.
It is possible to start your own wiki and install wiki software on a server. On this Wikipedia page, you will find a list of different wiki software: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wiki_software.
Examples of use if you want to give collaborative tasks to you learners:
- Free space for writing and experimentation;
- Collaborative glossary development;
- Collaborative annotated bibliography development;
- Collaborative encyclopaedia development;
- Collaborative creation of course notes;
- Collaborative research report drafting.
Activity 2. Exploring collaborative tools
We would like you to explore the Internet to discover even more collaborative applications. Look for those with a use that could be particularly advantageous in your teaching practice. To list them, use this online wiki.
Congratulations!
You have learned the unit. Let’s continue with coordination tools.
