Reading Eight

I think that collaboration itself is a valuable tool to learn. Students will have to learn to work cooperatively with classmates, employers co-workers etc. therefore making it a relevant topic to teach. Collaboration can encourage the development of communication skills because student will have to articulate their ideas so they are undersood. It can also encourage students to think at a higher level by being questioned by their peers. Although, there are many benefits to group projects, it's important to monitor group progress and ensure that all members are contributing equally. I think this is the danger in having projects online because I think it's harder to manage. In a comment posted below the author discusses the value in having projects based on the web rather that in paper because students can comment on each others journals. The web does allow for a faster exchange between students, but I do think it's important to have a mix of "paper" collaboration projects as well online projects. In future, students will have to collaborate with people in person and through e-mail, phone etc. therefore I think that are benefits in using both methods. There are many pros to this authors idea of collaborative projects, but I don't think it should be the only method. There are a lot of valuable lessons for students to learn through individual projects. Students will learn to problem solve on their own, time manage, make executive decisions, and the list goes on.