Marcela's+Summaries


 * FIRST VERSION OF THE SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE "WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING", PEER EDITED BY LARISSA**

Larissa's suggestions:

In “What is Collaborative Learning?”, an abbreviation of their article of the same name, Barbara Leigh Smith and Jean T. MacGregor define collaborative learning as set of educational approaches and activities aiming to build knowledge through an active and bottom-up process that substitutes traditional and old-fashioned methods. It is “the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning”. This way, instead of being teacher-centered, classes become a community of shared experiences, opinions and work from which learning is a natural outcome.Besides acquiring theory from practice, working in cooperative environments enhances students’ involvement in learning, also building a sense of teamwork, problem-solving and commitment to others that is essential to one’s social and civic education. According to the authors, “in collaborative endeavors, students inevitably encounter difference, and must grapple with recognizing and working with it”, an experience taken beyond classrooms’ walls. Some of the cooperative activities are problem-centered instructions, “which immerse students in complex problems that they (…) must work through together”, writing groups, peer teaching and discussions and seminars. Technology has brought facilities to cooperative learners and teachers, such as the possibility of working together even being far, and learning communities have confronted “multiple problems plaguing undergraduate education”. Still, there are difficulties to overcome. One of the challenges is the opposition between process and content: “how do we ensure students are learning (…) ideas in the course, while at the same time addressing all the material?”. Other problems to face are the resistance to new methodologies and configurations of education, as well as the institutional reward system focused on researching rather than on teaching. Despite its toughness, collaborative learning presents itself as a stimulating process “in which everyone is welcome to join, participate and grow”.

**SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE "WHAT IS COLLABORATIVE LEARNING?" **
In “What is Collaborative Learning?”, an abbreviation of their article of the same name, Barbara Leigh Smith and Jean T. MacGregor define collaborative learning as set of educational approaches and activities aiming aimed at building knowledge through an active and bottom-up process that substitutes the traditional and old-fashioned methods. It is “the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning”. This way, instead of being teacher-centered, classes become a community of shared experiences, opinions and work from which learning is a natural outcome. Besides acquiring theory from practice, working in cooperative environments enhances students’ involvement in learning, also building a sense of teamwork, problem-solving skills, and<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> a commitment to others that is essential to one’s social and civic education. According to the authors, “in collaborative endeavors, students inevitably encounter difference, and must grapple with recognizing and working with it<range type="comment" id="868294">” ,<range type="comment" id="8617"> an experience taken beyond classrooms’ walls .Some of the cooperative activities are problem-centered instructions “which immerse students in complex problems that they (…) must work through together<range type="comment" id="856644">”, <range type="comment" id="201232">writing groups, peer teaching and discussions and seminars. Technology has brought <range type="comment" id="298636">facilities to cooperative learners and teachers, such as the possibility of working together <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"><span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; text-decoration: line-through;">even despite being far <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">away ,<range type="comment" id="75278"> and learning communities have confronted “multiple problems plaguing undergraduate education”. Still, there are <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-decoration: line-through;">difficulties <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">challenges to overcome. One of the challenges is the opposition between process and content: “how do we ensure students are learning (…) ideas in the course, while at the same time addressing all the material?<range type="comment" id="344263">”. Other problems to face are the resistance to new methodologies and <range type="comment" id="511297">configurations of education, as well as the institutional reward system focused on researching rather than on teaching. Despite <range type="comment" id="591553">its toughness, collaborative learning presents itself as a stimulating process “in which everyone is welcome to join, participate and grow<range type="comment" id="450534">”.

**FIRST VERSION OF THE SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE "A STUDENT'S GUIDE TO COLLABORATIVE WRITING TECHNOLOGIES", PEER EDITED BY LARISSA**

Larissa's suggestions:

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In the article //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A Student’s Guide to Collaborative Writing Technologies //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, Matt Barton and Karl Klint present several online tools that make it possible to write in group through the Internet. These tools relieve partners from having to schedule and attend meetings in order to collaborate on an assignment. All that is necessary is a computer, internet access and willingness to learn and work. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: justify;">Blogs, communities, sites and programs can either provide synchronic or asynchronic communication, that is, interaction at the same time or not. The <range type="comment" id="95118">first makes use of chats via Facebook, Messengers or Skype; the second includes Google Docs, Twitter and Zotero. These tools and the facilities they convey are helpful in each step of the writing process.During prewriting, Twitter and Facebook can be used to transmit simple and short messages that communicate ideas. Not to lose track of a group member’s most recent thoughts, the others can subscribe to his/her page’s updates by listing its RSS in Google Reader. Academic background and arguments for those ideas may be found by searching Google Scholar<range type="comment" id="32076">, whose useful articles can be shared with partners in Zotero. <range type="comment" id="136577">Finally it is possible to use Mindomo, “one of many freely available mind-mapping tools (…) to organize your ideas, studying the relationships and discovering connections that you might not have realized” (p.329).If it is necessary to set up a meeting, partners can access each other’s availability through Doodle or Google Calendar. To draft online, group members have Google Docs, Etherpad, Buzzwords and Zoho as options to share latest modifications and avoid “worrying about bottlenecks or whether they’re working on the latest version” (p.329). These tools also make it easier to edit and correct the final draft.After finishing the writing assignment, students can share their work using Zotero in order “to enrich the online community and make new friends” (p.331), contributing to those who have helped them.

** SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE "A STUDENT'S GUIDE TO COLLABORATIVE WRITING TECHNOLOGIES" **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">In the article //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"><range type="comment" id="304446">A Student’s Guide to Collaborative Writing Technologies //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">, Matt Barton and Karl Klint present several online tools that make it possible to write in group s through the Internet. These tools relieve partners from having to schedule and attend meetings in order to collaborate on an assignment. All that is necessary is a computer, Internet access and the willingness to learn and work. Blogs, communities, sites and programs can either provide synchronic or asynchronic communication - that is, interaction at the same time or not. The <range type="comment" id="346428">first makes use of chats via Facebook, Messengers or Skype; the <range type="comment" id="961907">second includes Google Docs, Twitter and Zotero. These tools and the <range type="comment" id="681820">facilities they <range type="comment" id="353783">convey are helpful in each step of the writing process. During prewriting, Twitter and Facebook can be used to transmit simple and short messages that communicate ideas. So as n ot to lose track of a group member’s most recent thoughts, the others can subscribe to his/her page’s updates by listing its RSS feed in Google Reader.<range type="comment" id="803186"> Academic background and arguments for <range type="comment" id="55510">those ideas may be found by searching Google Scholar, whose useful articles can be shared with partners in Zotero. Finally, it is possible to use Mindomo, “one of many freely available mind-mapping tools (…) to organize your ideas, studying the relationships and discovering connections that you might not have realized” (p.329).If it is necessary to set up a meeting, partners can access each other’s availability through Doodle or Google Calendar. To draft online, group members have Google Docs, Etherpad, Buzzwords and Zoho as options to share the latest modifications and avoid “worrying about bottlenecks or whether they’re working on the latest version” (p.329). These tools also make it easier to edit and correct the final draft. After finishing the writing assignment, students can share their work using Zotero in order “to enrich the online community and make new friends, ” (p.331) , contributing to those who have helped them <range type="comment" id="969317"> (p. 331).

Great writing, Marcela! You have very few grammar mistakes and your sentences are well formed. Be careful with your word choices and make sure you remember to cite any quotations. Read my comments for advice on specific changes, and you'll be ready for a final draft! -Kimi