Collaboration is working together to achieve a common goal. Collaboration is a major part of most our lives. We collaborate with co-workers, spouses, family members, and others we come into contact with in our lives. As a teacher, I believe collaboration is at the heart of education. When students collaborate with each other, they have the benefit of each other's strengths and skills to guide them. Students share their experiences and hold each other accountable for their learning. 

"Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory promotes learning contexts in which students play an active role in learning. Roles of the teacher and student are therefore shifted, as a teacher should collaborate with his or her students in order to help facilitate meaning construction in students. Learning therefore becomes a reciprocal experience for the students and teacher."

 http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learning-theory.html


The following goals were met under the Collaboration theme:


Students will be leaders in educational technology.
Students will be current in teaching and learning processes and practices.
Students will be current in research technologies and designs.
Students will be knowledgeable of current, technology-based educational tools and products.

The following objectives were met under the Collaboration theme:


Students will demonstrate proficiency in teaching and assessing others in the use of computers and related technologies in a variety of educational settings.
Students will be aware of current trends and issues in computer education, distance education, electronic communications, computer hardware and software.
Students will apply learning theory and the principles of instruction design in curricular and instructional decision-making.
Students will be proficient in finding, evaluating, and using current educational research to support continuous improvement in their profession.
Students will use telecommunications-based tools to integrate information into the classroom and the curriculum

Completed courses that relate to this theme include:


CET 720 Evaluating Technology Outcomes
CET 765 Leadership in Technological Change
LT 712 Principles of Learning for Instructional Technologies
LT 716 Systematic Design of Instruction
LT 785 Research Methods in Educational Technology