Collaborative Web Tools in Education Class Reflection

            My journey continues and this time leading me even further outside my classroom's physical walls.  Learning about collaborative technology tools has allowed me to see how it's now possible for my students to easily collaborate with each other.  I have always been a teacher who worked to design projects and learning where students could work together because collaborating brings so many advantages to the classroom: discussing, deeper thinking, sharing, cooperating, decision making, and evaluating.  In the past, this always had to be done face-to-face.  Now students can use tools like Google Suites to collaborate with each other and even with students in other classrooms.  Real-time internet based applications let students see each others' work, chat ideas, and work together at any time and anywhere.  This is mind blowing and opens the doors to so many possibilities!  Taking this class allowed me to learn about new tools to do this effectively and gave me the chance to apply them in my classroom.  I have learned some of the great applications of these tools and also some of their limits.  As I've tried them in my classroom, I've also learned better ways to manage the use of these tools and leverage them for the best and most efficient learning opportunities.