5 Projects to Encourage Classroom Collaboration

Collaboration has been identified as a critical skill for students of the 21st century. The next generation of jobs will be primarily collaborative in nature. Science, engineering, and technology companies are seeking out individuals who can work as part of a team to solve complex problems. 

Teaching students how to collaborate with one another is an important part of the classroom, especially the STEM classroom. Last week I presented at the "Teaching and Learning in the Cloud" conference sponsored by MACUL. I shared five five classroom projects that help foster collaborative skills in students. Each project includes examples and resources. 

1. Student generated surveys
2. Data aggregation and analysis
3. Journal Summaries
4. Infographics
5. Multimedia lab reports

How are you teaching your students to collaborate with one another? What tools are you using to foster collaboration? 

Collaboration in the Cloud: Projects for STEM Classrooms

Below is a copy of the presentation that I will be giving at the fall MACUL conference in Holland, Michigan. The theme for this year's conference is "Teaching and Learning In the Cloud." My presentation focuses on teaching collaborative skills in STEM classrooms through five collaborative projects.

If you have ideas, suggestions, or resources related to my presentation I would love to receive them! Leave me a comment or hit me up on Twitter: @jrsowash.

Collaboration in the STEM Classroom on Prezi

Unexpected Classroom Tech Application

Sometimes classroom technology integration is a byproduct of research, planning, and hard work; other times, it happens unexpectedly

I picked up the new iPod Touch with plans on integrating multimedia lab reports into my 9th grade biology class. The still/video camera on the new Touch is great! There was another application for the touch that I had not considered, however.

On Friday, while reviewing with my Anatomy & Physiology class on the fairly complex topic of muscle stimulation, I drew a diagram on the board to help them remember the process. One of the students commented that it would be nice to have a copy of the diagram to use over the weekend to study with. Normally, I would have to create a digital copy using a drawing program, or take a picture, print them out and give it to the students the next school day. This is when inspiration struck.

I quickly took out my iPod touch, opened my Facebook app, took a picture of the whiteboard and posted it on my wall. I later went back and tagged the students in the picture. This took me literally 15 seconds.

Sometimes technology integration comes as a byproduct of hard work and carefully planning and sometimes it emerges in a flash of inspiration.