Communication

**6.2 __Communication vs Collaboration__**

From my personal vantage point, communication and collaboration differ in their desired goals. Communication can occur simply to occur – to fill a space, a hole in conversation, a hole in oneself. It can also occur to ferment understanding, draw two parties nearer, and push one's thought processes further. Yet, in order for two or more people to push forward, they must collaborate – they must build upon each others thoughts and act upon them. The term “act” being of great significance.

Communication and collaboration objectives can be promoted through the use of technologies. One such technology being Wordle, which can aid us in the communication process. Wordle is yet another way in which information can be presented, and thus accessed, by others. This very wiki is another wonderful avenue of communication. It allows educators to speak their minds and have their distinct voices heard through the online written word. It at times also drifts into the collaboration realm, as one person's thoughts, may push another's, which in turn can lead to joint academic action – either in the classroom or mind.

**6.3** __**Communication in an Online World**__

Pirate Pad Above is a link to a discussion three teachers and I shared. Pirate Pad is a wonderful tool for online real-time communication. This particualr educational technology would help quite a bit with assessment and I believe would work to keep the students interested. I also like the idea of student's who perhaps do not like speaking in class, having a venue to share their opinions. The ability to save conversations and print them is also useful - it need not only be an online tool, but also something to be used later in the student's notebooks for further revision.

Blog Above is a blog created to showcase the ways in which online writing can both be beneficial to the writer and reader. Blogging is a way in which students can share their ideas and opinions via a new and exciting venue. Whether a blog be used as a year long record of assessment or an online frame for a class report, students can now access and present material in manners that they may perhaps be far more comfortable with. Also, the idea that students writing is being "published" to the public is an academic motivator, as it is not only the teacher's mind they must attempt to reach. The only potential negative is the risk of cyber-bullying and perhaps students approaching the work as anything less than academic (due to it's technological nature).