While technologies to facilitate collaborative

Collaborative Learning learning include a range of features and

functionalities, this report focuses on three types of
Technologies tools: idea generation and brainstorming, online
Winter 2015 group work and document collaboration, and online
communication.
By Melissa Mallon and Suzanne Bernsten

Overview and Definition Current Applications in Academic

Libraries and Higher Education
With an increase in online learning environments,
Lomas, Burke, and Page (2008) explain that
collaborative learning is becoming an increasingly
popular method of engaging students. According to collaboration tools, as opposed to online
the Center for Teaching Excellence at Cornell communication tools, should encourage
University, collaborative activities are commonly communication among participants, have interfaces
based on four main principles: “The learner or that are easy to use, and both expect and be
student is the primary focus of instruction; capable of collaboration. There are a wide range of
interaction and ‘doing’ are of primary importance;
potential tools available, which has prompted some
working in groups is an important mode of
learning; and structured approaches to developing libraries to create guides to quality collaboration
solutions to real-world problems should be tools for their campus communities. These guides,
incorporated into learning” (2014). Collaborative including the University of Queensland Library’s
learning technologies range from communication Research Collaboration Tools and Harvard Law
tools that allow for synchronous and asynchronous School Library’s Collaboration Tools, suggest tools
text, voice, or video chat to online spaces that for a variety of applications.
facilitate brainstorming, document editing, and
remote presentations of topics.
Idea Generation and Brainstorming
Research in psychology has examined the strengths
Basis for Current Interest and weaknesses of face-to-face vs. computer-
Providing students with collaborative learning mediated collaboration. Finholt and Teasey’s (1998)
experiences not only promotes critical thinking and review of the literature found that computer-
reflection but also encourages students to “develop mediated groups generated more ideas during
[a] sense of community, thus enabling the creation brainstorming tasks, experienced more even
of an environment in which further collaborative participation among group members, and had less
work can happen” (Palloff and Pratt 2005, 5). “social loafing,” where some group members work
Studies have also shown that students working in less hard in a group than they would on their own,
online groups provide mentorship and technical perhaps due to the electronic trail of their work.
support to their fellow group members, and These strengths make online collaboration tools
develop communities that extend beyond the ideal for helping students generate ideas and
individual learning experience (Stacey 1999). These brainstorm.
learning experiences often extend beyond the
classroom, and can be particularly beneficial for Tools like Google Docs, Padlet, Mindmeister, and
students working on research projects. Lino can be used for group brainstorming, and a

Tips and Trends, written by Instructional Technologies Committee members, introduces and discusses new, emerging, or even familiar
technology which can be applied in the library instruction setting. Issues are published 4 times a year.
variety of free online whiteboard tools and real- weekly basis. Peers provide feedback on the
time collaboration tools are also available for assignments and then the professor models giving
teachers (Byrne 2014; Hovious 2013). Features of feedback as well (Hershock and LaVaque-Manty
these tools include space for multiple participants 2012).
to collaborate in real time, as well as the ability to
type, draw, share images, chat or talk with Online Communication
collaborators, and even record work to review or Collaboration tools can also be used to support
submit to an instructor later. synchronous online communication, including
online meetings, office hours, informal chats, guest
Online Group Work and Collaboration speakers and webinars. Some synchronous
Many tools are available for document collaboration communication tools include Skype, Adobe
in face-to-face classes or online. Rather than Connect, Google Hangouts, Vyew, GoToMeeting,
sending emails with attachments of different and MeetingBurner. Features include audio via
versions of a file back and forth, students can go to webcam or phone, text chat, polling, drawing, and
a cloud-based document to collaborate. Some screen sharing. Many of the tools allow recording
document creation tools include Google Drive, so that meetings can be archived via a course
Zoho, Etherpad, and Evernote. management system or YouTube to be viewed
later.
These tools have a variety of features to encourage
collaboration, such as built-in chat, colors for A recent study comparing fee-based and free web
different authors, tracking changes, playback of conferencing platforms that support student
writing, ability to insert comments, and different collaboration recommended Adobe Connect and
levels of sharing ranging from viewing to editing. Google Hangouts due to the range of collaborative
With the new tool called Poetica, comments appear features possible with these platforms (McDaniel et
in the margins of the page, in a visual style as if al 2013). To use these tools effectively, the
you were adding comments to a paper document. Academic Training Group at the University of
The Uberconference add-on for Google Docs, on Kentucky (2015) provides best practice guidelines
the other hand, invites users to collaborate through for Adobe Connect, and a digital marketing media
a virtual conference call while viewing a Google faculty member gives suggestions for how to use
Doc (Klosowski 2014). While many of these cloud- Google Hangouts (Floyd 2013). For more tools, see
based tools are not tied to institutions, it is the Winter 2013 edition of Tips and Trends on Web
becoming more common for colleges and Conferencing Software.
universities to implement enterprise cloud storage
platforms, which include collaboration features Applications in Academic Library
(EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative 2014).
Instruction
The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
Idea Generation and Brainstorming
at the University of Michigan (2014) highlights a
number of innovative examples of faculty using In library instruction, online mind and concept
online collaboration tools for group work. Projects mapping tools can be used to generate keywords
include using Google Docs for group brainstorming, for searches, to narrow down research topics, and
small group responses to discussion questions, and for students in groups to give feedback on each
group creation of study guides and exam other’s topics. Fuchs (2014) describes a variety of
questions. Brandon Respress, a nursing faculty possible uses of Padlet, including having students
member, uses Google Docs to have students post terms they would use to search for their topic
submit sections of a research assignment on a at the beginning of an instruction session. She
points out that in addition to serving as a formative open-source tools such as SNAPP (Social Networks
assessment, this activity engages students in peer Adapting Pedagogical Practice) to monitor and
learning and helps them to assess their own skills. quickly assess students’ online discussions
The activity could be taken further by having (Krongard and McCormick 2013). Librarians can
students suggest additional terms for their peers also measure student learning through authentic
and adding terms to the Padlet after the library demonstration of skills. Proposals, online group
instruction session. presentations of research findings, or videocasts
allow students to demonstrate their information
Online Group Work and Collaboration literacy skills while giving the librarian a chance to
Document collaboration tools are widely used provide real-time feedback. Feedback is an
among librarians to work together on presentations important part of the group work process, because
and instructional materials, and they can be used in it increases learning and promotes creativity
one-shot sessions as well. Bobish (2011) provides (Cooper 2014). As academic librarians are
creative examples of how Web 2.0 tools can be increasingly called upon to prove their relevance,
used in library instruction. Many of his ideas, such the ability to quickly and succinctly demonstrate
as creating a research timeline or a collaborative the library’s impact on student learning is critical.
bibliography or wiki, could easily be adapted for
use with Google Docs or Padlet. Bilby (2014) Collaborative learning tools also have implications
reports on a collaborative student research project for the proposed Framework for Information
developed with the theology librarian at the Literacy for Higher Education. Several of the
University of San Diego that required students to threshold concepts, including “scholarship is a
create and share annotated bibliographies conversation” and “research as inquiry” could be
throughout the semester using Google Drive. introduced through collaborative activities. For
example, students could contribute as a group to a
Librarians can also use these tools to facilitate scholarly blog or other academic community in
small group discussions about research strategies. order to further their understanding of the
For example, groups of students could be assigned discourse in a particular subject area.
websites to evaluate and could then post their
evaluations, and review other group’s evaluations. Potential Hurdles

Potential Value Collaboration tools also have some drawbacks.

Some of the tools involve a learning curve, which
Online collaboration tools are an excellent way to
can be an issue for students and librarians who are
engage students in both virtual and physical
resistant to trying new technologies. One strategy
classrooms. They not only enable active learning,
for dealing with this challenge is to assign an
but also facilitate peer learning. For example,
introductory activity using the technology to help
incorporating online brainstorming tools such as
students become more familiar with the tool
Padlet or MindMeister into library instruction allows
(Center for Teaching Excellence, Cornell University
students to bounce ideas off one another and share
2014).
their own individual experiences and perspectives,
which has been shown to increase cognitive
thinking and comprehension (Cooper 2014). Another barrier to adopting these collaborative
technologies is that free tools often disappear or
Using online collaborative technologies also allows become paid tools. For example, one of the authors
for more seamless assessment. For example, of this article previously used [Link] as a
instructors can collect real-time analytics with collaborative brainstorming tool, but it later
changed names and became a paid tool, Google Docs: [Link]
[Link], and the discussion boards she had Google Hangouts: [Link]
created were lost.
/hangouts
Librarians may also find it challenging to divide GoToMeeting: [Link]
students into groups. They can either allow Lino: [Link]
students to form their own groups or assign
MeetingBurner: [Link]
students to groups (Center for Teaching Excellence,
Cornell University 2014). Tools such as Geddit allow .com
librarians to gauge student understanding and Mindmeister: [Link]
subsequently create groups based on ability to
Padlet: [Link]
facilitate peer-to-peer coaching.
Poetica: [Link]
Finally, tools that offer anonymous participation Skype: [Link]
encourage all to participate; however, anonymity
Uberconference: [Link]
can lead to students starting conversations that are
offensive or completely unrelated to the topic. To .com
avoid this problem, ground rules can be set for use Vyew: [Link]
and group members could be assigned Zoho: [Link]
responsibility for different sections. This solution
would allow individual students to still maintain
some anonymity, but make all group members feel References
more responsible for their contributions.
Academic Training Group, University of Kentucky.
2015. “Adobe Connect Best Practices.”
Conclusion Accessed January 25. [Link]
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outlet for creative exploration of ideas, and as a Bilby, Mark. 2014. “Collaborative Student Research
way for librarians to gather valuable assessment with Google Drive: Advantages and
data. The variety of tools available means that Challenges.” Presentation at the annual
there is a technology available for almost any conference of the American Theological
classroom application, from idea generation and Library Association, New Orleans, LA, June
brainstorming at the beginning of a research 17-22. [Link]
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Tools Discussed Byrne, Richard. 2014. “Seven Free Online

Whiteboard Tools for Teachers and
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Further Readings
Barkley, Elizabeth F., K. Patricia Cross, and Claire
Howell Major. 2005. Collaborative Learning
Techniques: A Handbook for College
Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Deal, Ashley. 2009. “Collaboration Tools.” Teaching

with Technology Whitepaper. Eberly Center
for Teaching Excellence and Educational
Innovation, Carnegie Mellon University,
January 23. [Link]
/technology/whitepapers/CollaborationTools
_Jan09.pdf.

Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and

Educational Innovation. 2015. “Group
Projects Aren’t Working.” Accessed January
25. [Link]
/solveproblem/strat-groupwork/.

Gokhale, Anuradha A. 1995. “Collaborative

Learning Enhances Critical Thinking.”
Journal of Technology Education 7(1).
[Link]
/v7n1/[Link].