Online Collaboration for Teachers

The Internet has become a hub for collaboration. Teachers have the ability to bypass the traditional classroom and bring students working together from different parts of the world. But where do you start? Honestly, if you’re a new teacher, you may feel overwhelmed at first. I know when I began teaching I didn’t know what to do. It was very different than my teaching in the past with different learning styles and needs.

Group Projects and Papers

When working on group projects or research papers, these tools make collaboration a breeze.

1. Nicenet. This tool is made just for education and includes document sharing, communication, link sharing, and scheduling.
2. Redliner. Students working on a group project that requires editing will enjoy using this tool that allows multiple users to easily edit Word documents.
3. Collanos. Projects that require lots of communication, notes, and discussions will benefit from this tool that allows all of that and more to be kept in one place.
4. EtherPad. This web-based word processor allows multiple users to work simultaneously on a document. Each person’s work is highlighted in a different color to keep everything understandable.
5. Writeboard. Groups can write, collaborate, share their individual work, and more with this simple and free web-based tool.
6. Writewith. Writing projects just got easier with this tool that provides a place for students to share documents and tasks, hold discussions, and more.
7. Zoho Show. Great online presentations are easy to create collaboratively with this powerful free tool.
8. Google Docs. Students can work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations individually and collaboratively with this dynamic tool.
9. ThinkFold. Perfect for the planning stages of a group project, ThinkFold helps students create real-time outlines collaboratively.
10. Thinkature. Use this tool to collaborate, organize research and ideas, and prepare final projects.
11. Thinkfree. The free services here include document creation and sharing, file sharing, collaboration, and more.

Discussion Groups and Communication

Don’t let a little thing like distance stop your group or class from communicating. Use these free tools instead.

12. Blink. As an all-in-one employee app, Blink is designed to keep employees engaged with several noteworthy features, including a personalized newsfeed, secure document sharing, discussion threads, and a lot more.
13. MemberHub. Up to 30 members can communicate in one place for free with this tool.
14. Yugma. The free version of this tool allows up to 20 people to web conference and is a great way for groups to connect when they can’t be in the same location.
15. ProBoards. Create an online discussion board easily and quickly with this tool that works like online forums and can be made private.
16. Pidgin. No matter what IM platform students are using, they can all connect with Pidgin.
17. 99Chats. Create your own chat room with this tool.
18. AwayFind. If you are in class but don’t want to miss any truly important emails, then use this tool to have only the emails you select sent directly to you via SMS, Twitter DM, IM, or a phone call.
19. Skype. If your group is spread far and wide, but you need to meet anyway, use Skype to make video and voice calls and even share files.

Research, Note Taking, and File Sharing

Share your research, notetaking, and files with these great tools.

19. CiteULike. When students find scholarly articles on the Internet, they can share them, then organize and store their work with this tool.
20. NoteMesh. Just for college students, this free tool allows you to share notes with others in your class.
21. Notefish. This tool can aid students by saving web content, which can be organized and shared with others.
22. NoteCentric.This tool was created by a student and allows college students to easily share and store notes.
23. Springnote. Use this tool as a group notebook to keep notes for classes, projects, or other tasks.
24. wridea. A great way to keep brainstorming sessions documented and organized, this free tool is a must-have for groups working together.
25. FruitNotes. This online notebook offers a great way to keep and organize notes, store photos, and share with others. You can even send notes via your phone.
26. Kablink. File sharing and real-time meetings are two of the biggest highlights of this tool.
27. drop.io. Students can share images, documents, audio and video files, and more with this tool.
28. Proofhub. Collaboration tool designed to help students plan what needs to be done, organize documents, discuss ideas, and keep all involved in the project in the loop.

Social Networking

Social networking provides an opportunity for students and teachers to connect beyond the classroom walls in new and innovative ways.

28. ePals. Students can connect with other classrooms around the world with this tool that has a strict education-only focus.
29. iLeonardo. This social network provides a place for researchers and students to collaborate on any research topic.
30. The Quad. Make sure you have access to an .edu email address to access the tools here that include group projects, calendars, and more.
31. Loomagoo. Students can share notes and study guides and even buy and sell text books on this site.
32. Student.com. High school and college students can find help with school work, prepare for college admission, and socialize with other students.
33. WiZiQ. Teachers and learners can all take part in this web-based learning opportunity that is free for anyone to participate in.
34. LearnHub. LearnHub is all about education sharing and allows students to share their knowledge, find what they need to know, and even study for major standardized exams.
35. Campusbug. Students will find resources for their homework and projects as well as connections with other students.

Wikis and Blogs

Use these wikis and blogs to share information within a class or with the rest of the world.

36. Wikispaces. Create a free classroom wiki with this popular wiki service.
37. PBworks. This wiki is super easy to start using and will have your classroom working together in no time.
38. Class Blogmeister. Educators can use this free service to create a class blog and locate other class blogs to share learning across classrooms.
39. Edublogs. This blogging platform provides plenty of great features and is just for education purposes.
40. Blogger. Get a free and easy-to-use blog from this popular blogging platform.
41. Twitter. Educators are finding tons of great ways to use this microblogging tool for connecting with people around the world and creating dynamic learning experiences.
42. Edmodo. Similar to Twitter, Edmodo is just for the educational setting and offers a more private way to engage in microblogging.
43. Socialtext. Get a free microblogging platform for up to 50 users to have a private Twitter-like experience in your classroom.

Task Management

These tools are helpful for keeping both the individual and an entire class on track so that no assignment or task gets left behind.

44. Google Calendar. Google Calendar is a great sharable calendar that a whole class can use to stay on task with assignments, tests, and more.
45. MyNoteit. Just for college students, this free tool allows students to organize and share notes, assignments, to-do lists, a calendar, and tasks.
46. MeetWithApproval. Students working together can plan a meeting, study group, or other event with this tool.
47. CollegeRuled. College students can create schedules, print or share them on Facebook, and participate in class message boards.
48. Remember the Milk. This tool is a popular to-do list that keeps tasks organized. Some of the features include reminders, integration with Google Calendar, iPhone compatibility, and the ability to share with others.
49. Toodledo. Another to-do list, Toodledo offers a feature that organizes and analyzes your dates, priorities, and time estimates to create a time management schedule that will keep any student, teacher, or group on tas
50. GradeMate. Both teachers and students will enjoy the benefits of this tool that is made for managing grades and organizing and sharing assignments, notes, files, discussions, and more.

In its first year, this community showed just how powerful social media can be in supporting a community that craves collaboration and connection. Here are seven ways teachers are using it to transform their practice and profession:

• Teacher-leaders are raising their profiles. After a post by teacher Michael Dunlea—who serves as a fellow and leader in several national teacher voice groups—was shared on the Teacher2Teacher Facebook page, his blog received over 12,000 views in two days. He has also had requests for lesson plans and attracted new subscribers to his blog. Teachers emailed him to thank him for sharing his ideas and inspiring them to improve their classroom culture and practice.
• Teachers are expanding their professional networks. An art teacher named Colleen used the @teacher2teacher Twitter account (below) to ask for help integrating literacy into her classroom. She received many responses from teachers around the country, including six English teachers.

• They’re problem-solving collaboratively in real-time. Teachers are making suggestions or posing problems of practice, and other teachers are responding and interacting instantaneously, offering ideas and questions on how to implement similar changes in their classrooms.

• They’re making their needs known. One teacher sent out the following tweet:

This question generated several retweets, which suggests that many teachers are looking for similar resources but don’t know where to find them.

• They’re becoming inspired and equipped to change their practice. Laura Dixon, a Washington, D.C.-area design engineering and technology teacher, attended a series of in-person events we piloted last year called “Engaged Exchanges.” Through this experience, she connected with industry experts and met other teachers in DC with similar interests. She immediately implemented changes in her classroom and is now leading her school in applying design thinking to professional development.
• They’re taking on leadership roles. At a teacher-led conference called Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teachers and Teaching (ECET2), teacher Jamie Ponce attended a special session sponsored by Teacher2Teacher to help her develop her own voice through blogging. She went on to join the National Blogging Collaborative, a teacher network focused on helping other teachers learn how to blog, and is now mentoring other teachers.
• They’re bonding and sharing stories. Last year, Teacher2Teacher launched the #WhyITeach hashtag to encourage teachers to share their stories of purpose. During last year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, we saw 1,400 stories. This year, during the same week, teachers posted 26,500 #WhyITeach messages. All were incredibly moving testimonials about why teachers do what they do.

Of course, social media alone won’t transform teaching. But we are banking on the hypothesis that connecting teachers to other teachers is an overarching benefit that builds every teacher’s professional and social capital. As Andy Smarick, a senior policy fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, wrote, “When people are connected, they (and even those outside the network) gain, thanks to sharing, interdependence, joint learning, collective action, solidarity, and more.”
Social media is giving teachers a new way to imagine what’s possible. Now the only question is how far that imagination will go and what impact it will have on increasing student success.

Conclusion

As a teacher, one of the most challenging things about a new school year is getting to know a new group of students. As soon as you become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, the school year is over!