Over the years I have been an advocate for connected collaboration. I believe that collaboration using technology to connect people for the purpose of collaboration is different from connecting people in a room together for collaboration. I used the word “different”. I did not use the word “better”. For educators any form of collaboration with other educators is a good thing.
Historically and for centuries, collaboration had not changed the way people connected together in order to accomplish learning. If one wanted to connect with someone to collaborate it was a question of picking a time, a place, and showing up. Collaboration itself has remained the same no matter the time or place. People exchange, modify, reflect, improve, and create ideas collectively. This form of learning has proven invaluable in advancing education. It is the basis for education conferences. Learning and sharing is the backbone of education.
What has changed however is the way that people connect to collaborate. It is that element of connection that has been the game changer for many educators. Connecting for collaboration has now become a function of what technology can provide educators. Most often, social media applications provide the bulk of these collaborative connections, but other tools of technology cannot be discounted. This all requires educators to have at the very least a modicum of digital literacy. Unfortunately, this has proven to be a stumbling block for many.
The act of collaboration is the important element in this conversation. Collaborating with folks in your building, or district is wonderful, but if it is limited to just those people the potential of the collaboration itself may be limited. One advantage of collaboration through technology-connected collaboration is that there are few limits with whom or with how many people one may engage. The connections could be local or global. Access and contact with authors or education thought leaders are more possible through technological connections. The technological connections could easily include teachers, administrators, students, and parents separately or together for collaboration The overall effect of sharing has a greater reach in the world of technological connections. The limits of where or when are far less impeding with technological connections. Transparency is evident through social media collaboration. It is out there for all to see.
In the technological sense, a “connected educator” has a number of advantages in collaboration over an educator not technologically “connected”, an “unconnected educator”. This may cause a rift between the connected and the unconnected in education. Questions of who is better? This is an argument that education does not need. This opens educators to even more criticism from a beleaguered public, being manipulated about education by politicians and “Reformers”. Of course the obvious best way of all is for educators to balance out face-to-face and technological connections for collaboration. Ideally, both types of connectors can be brought together, which often happens at education conferences for the purpose of collaborating on collaboration itself.
I believe most educators are collaborative. I also believe that far fewer are connected collaborators. Technological connection comes with a great deal of baggage that prevents educators from embracing it. The use of technology itself is the biggest of these obstacles. The idea of it being a huge time consumer is another. There is also a stigma of using any social media as a tool for learning. The biggest deterrent of all however is the perception that one needs to learn a whole bunch of technological stuff in order to participate in this connected world. Of course the worst advocates for this technological connection are those who are connected. They proudly announce their many accomplishments and successes as technologically connected educators and scare off anyone even remotely interested in trying it. People unfamiliar are just blown away and overwhelmed by the exuberant chatter.
Of course the obvious alternative to all of this is to have more collaboration between those educators who are not technologically connected and those who are. In the end whatever works best for an individual educator is what is best for them. Some believe the best collaboration is just down the hall. Others live on social media. My preference is to use whichever I need in order to accomplish that which I hope to accomplish. Sometimes I know where I am going and sometimes I need a direction from my trusted collaborators. The focus must be the collaboration. My bias is that for me, I need to be a technologically connected educator in order for me to remain relevant. That works best for me. Others need to make their own determinations. I am willing to collaborate with them to present what I know and believe.
My Island View 
I fully agree with you that collaboration is necessary on a regular basis, with or without technology. Also, I agree that connected educators have greater access to information sharing through connections nationally and globally. And I regret that I haven’t been collaborating digitally more often since I joined Twitter two years ago. I wonder, though, what is collaboration all about? Is it just getting together for the sake of collaborating or is it about having an authentic, professional dialogue on meaningful topics and issues affecting our education lives. I think technological connecting is absolutely essential and those who are deterred from engaging in it for one reason or another are missing out on a whole lot of learning. I do believe though, as you indicate, that there needs to be a balance. Moreover, there is something to be gained through face to face collaboration that just can’t be replaced by technological connecting alone. I believe that educational leaders need to model the improvement of collaboration through technology. They need to build capacity for those who are not comfortable with connecting using technology and help them realize who much impact this sort of collaborating can have on their growth as educators.
Tom,
I really appreciate your take on this topic. I presented at our local school Professional Learning today about connecting both locally and globally to help us provide better learning opportunities for our students. I made sure to emphasize that social media is not the only way to connect, and to address lots of the barriers to connection that you mentioned in your piece. Although I personally love connecting and sharing on social media, I realize that there are many who would be more comfortable with a “lurk & learn” approach, and that’s perfectly fine. We have to honor who we are as educators, while also pushing ourselves slightly outside of our comfort zones to continually grow. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Key word here as in all areas of life is ‘balance’ – successful and exciting educational collaboration thrives on face to face connection and through being digitally connected. We all beat to different drums – some are motivated by Twitter chatter, some enjoy simply reading blog posts , some enjoy viewing ‘top teaching videos’ Others ( like me ) read and respond. Bottom line to quote you Tom: ‘ the act of collaboration is the important element’. Agree Tom, that being technologically connected ( in which ever way one chooses) certainly opens us up to a world of global educators where the most ‘awesome’ ( to use my students’ lingo) collaborational professional development happens.
I am among those who are in the wide gray space of “in between” the connected & the the non-connected, & I want/need to find a way to bring more of the technologically-connected aspect of my personal life into the world of my classroom. I am very hesitant to use much technology in my teaching out of fear of mishap, losing those precious minutes (I see my students sixty minutes a week barring assemblies, parties, snow days, & holidays, so every minute counts! And next year sadly the sixty minutes will dwindle to fifty…) to technological issues, & having no support. I WANT to bring in the technology, the tools, & the experience – but those digital connections have no real place in my classroom yet because I am not secure in allowing them in. I would love to see a connecting program between “those who do” & those who don’t” happen, not in large inservice staff trainings, but in one-to-one peer mentorships between the educators who navigate technological collaboration with ease & those who are willing but stumbling. That is how I can see those in my category moving forward – one supportive collaboration at a time.
What you describe is one of the components of an Edcamp. Many semi-connected or unconnected educators come in contact with the connected and alliances are formed and relationships for mentoring are often created. Chats are also a great way to ease into connectedness. involving yourself in a discussion that you have an interest in makes you visible to like-minded people who you may later connect with for specific suggestions in areas that concern you.
THANKS
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