3.5 An ICT teacher’s experience of assessing students’ collaborative learning by EUN Partnership aisbl

Stella Maris Berdaxagar from Argentina

2016-11-07 14:03:00 UTC

When assessing collaborative learning there are benefits and challenges to face regarding group dynamics, team & time management and the effectiveness of any assessment tool design and management to best ponder indicators of performance. The presenter mentions benefits I agree with and tools that help achieve goals when managing classes and assessing peers and students. Teacher collaboration plays a major role in the 21st Century student-centered classes because they shape the way to best practices , identify features of multiliteracies across the curriculum, curate content, peer review and scaffold and assess performances for individual and team work .Checklists, rubrics ,portfolios, direct observation, timely feedback/forward , space management and the selection of effective web 2.0 & 3.0 tools reflect the pedagogical background that supports the TPCK and SAMR models .

Maria Daniela Roberto

2016-11-07 14:42:01 UTC

In collaborative learning, which is student-centered, there areaspects to be addressed: each student and all pupils have rolesto cover and things to organize. The teacher also has its ownspecific role, to regulate the interactions between workgroups,facilitate dialogue and discussion and providing tools, even intechnology, so that learning is truly collaborative

Anna La Montagna, Italy

monte6915 — 2016-11-07 15:15:17 UTC

I fully agree with the ideas presented in the video. I experiment with pupils (14-18 years) digital instruments  especially virtual classes with the publishing house Zanichelli, padlet, screencastomatic, jing, ThinkLink and other tools all very interesting and engaging for pupils. The problem is that to prepare these activities it is taken much time and it is often through the good will of individual teachers who carry out these initiatives without being paid and often not even recognize the work and commitment of the teacher and especially the students.

Tamar Chalakheshashvili Georgia

tamarigia — 2016-11-07 15:52:25 UTC

Joint training is effective, it is important training projects, digital technology lesson management. This facilitates the integration of students, evaluation, diversity strategies. I often use digital technologies in the classroom. Interesting lesson.

Mariangela Bielli, Italy

mariangela_biel — 2016-11-07 16:03:17 UTC

The project described by Antonio is a great example of collaborative learning and I agree with all the important benefits he associates with it. What he suggests about tools and class and space organization is the best we can do to enhance collaboration. However it is much more easier if we share these viewpoints with colleagues of the same class, which is not always the case in my school.

Anita M. Italy

2016-11-07 16:10:05 UTC

I agree with Antonio's point of view about student/teacher collaboration in the activity.Anyway that can be possible with students who can have a critical thinking and who can improve their skills and authonomy. Digital tools are certenly an opportunity to organize and better collect a feedback using also surveys and quick assessments.The 7 benefits of that are also a concequence .I think also that many subjects are involved and this aspect can be interesting to assess a process in students' educational path.Both are important , product and process .

Nils, Germany

2016-11-07 16:16:50 UTC

This ia a very interesting approach but unfortunately I won't be able to imlplement such an assessment in everyday school life because it would take far too much time. It's very inspiring and maybe I could use it for future project work.

Manoilă aria, Romania

2016-11-07 16:17:38 UTC

Yes, I agree with the learning experiences presented by Antony, and teachers must work together.

Amélie Silvert

silverteacher — 2016-11-07 16:20:21 UTC

When assessing group-work, we should always make sure that our criteria are understood and that no one feels left behind. Being fair in the evaluation is a key element. Also using game based learning assessment tools removes some of the stress some of the students may feel. I have found that students struggling in English were more than happy to answer questions about Shakespeare's life and work as long as they were well prepared. I could heart them argue when one member had forgotten one key information from his biography. Not only does collaborative learning create momentum in the classroom but also a bond that extends beyond the class. Congratulations to Antonio and his wonderful projects.

Ana Chambel, Portugal

aachambel — 2016-11-07 16:43:28 UTC

I really liked the projects described by Antonio and agree to the 7 benefits that are associated with collaborative learning referring to:

1 - It is a student-centered process;

2 - Promotes students Involvement in the assessment tasks;

3 - Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process;

4 - Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation;

5 - Students can learn from each other socially;

6 - Digital Promotes literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications;

7 - Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences;

As for the challenges consider that the greatest and also those who I face are:

Group assessment versus individual assessment; Management of teams / groups of students so everyone participates and

collaborates in the activities; Time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the class

I also consider that digital tools can be very useful, I have participated in projects e-twinning in which I used tools such as creating blogs or multiple applications.

Helen, Belgium

2016-11-07 17:05:19 UTC

I enjoyed hearing about the project and agree with lots of the ideas. It is so useful if you have someone to collaborate with on projects like these. It can give you the confidence to make changes to your teaching practices or environment that you wouldn't normally consider. It is wonderful if you have access to enough ICT tools to allow for self and peer assessment to be carried out online but if this is not the case, you can create some useful tools by other means. He raised a questions about the focus of your assessment: should it be assessment of the collaborative learning process itself or of the task/product. This depends on the reasons why you are completing the learning activity. If you are expecting the children to construct knowledge during the task, knowledge that is central to your learning objectives in a curriculum area, you should be assessing the knowledge gained. You might ask the students to self-assess and reflect on their own performance within the group to continue to explore collaborative learning practices. You could assess both knowledge and collaboration but I sometimes feel this is too much and may lead to an unfocused assessment.

Maria Chiara, Italy

mcricci — 2016-11-07 17:07:24 UTC

I totally agree with the benefits Antonio mentions. The greatest challenges we have to face are certainly time (especially if you have planned to cover a common programme and sometimes you have the feeling you are wasting time), organization of space (we are often packed with 25 students in small, colourless classrooms), use of digital tools (connection often absent or interrupted). The point is that lots of teachers avoid collaborative teaching and Learning because they also want to avoid PROBLEMS.! But I believe we need to face challenges and find solutions to problems to be effective teachers.

Rosa/ Italy

rosadilonardo — 2016-11-07 17:13:27 UTC

This experience explains to us the opportunity to work in partnership with a colleague from Lithuania, Nijole Bruzaite, in the coordination of two collaborative eTwinning projects on Augmented Reality: Digital Explorers, , and SMART (Systems of Mobile Augmented Reality for Teaching). This experience also explains the opportunity to collaborate with teachers in the steering group of the pilot project MeTP - Monitoring eTwinning Practice. These projects provided great opportunities for the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom.

Emiliana Rufo, Italy

emiliana_rufo — 2016-11-07 17:56:34 UTC

The experience clearly shows the opportunity to use digital tools in collaborative learning activities. I also use "Lino", "Padlet" to share ideas, opinions, works among students. I also use quiz online. I agree that creating innovative lessons means spending a lot of time to prepare them, but using project-based learning and collaborative learning is something that teachers decide to do and implement.

Cinzia F. ,Italy

nicomd — 2016-11-07 18:30:17 UTC

I think Antonio gives us an example of a project in which student collaboration and teachers collaboration are perfectly integrated. I did Etwinning projects and I think that they are the best way of putting into practice students collaboration and teacher collaboration. In these projects you can integrate the use of digital skills , team management and you require to dedicate to them a lot of time but at the end they are of great satisfactions for students and teachers as well.The questions he arises are good ones to reflect on collaborative learning . I think that for the assessment of collaborative learning we shouldn't use traditional assessment with marks but we should evaluate them with level of competence instead.

Iliyana, Bulgaria

2016-11-07 18:33:51 UTC

Working on projects and with older students differs from working on everyday topics and with younger pupils. I think I need much time to make my pupils 11-12 year-olds use digital tools collaboratively.

Stefania Z. Rome

2016-11-07 18:43:31 UTC

I agree with the seven benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning. I think that Digital tools can be used to support teacher’s planning activities. The use of collaborative digital tools enables teachers to efficiently observe student groups and deliver feedback.

Adina Marcu,Romania

adinamarcu9 — 2016-11-07 19:04:16 UTC

Working on projects with young students is different from working with older students.I agree that creating innovative lessons means spending a lot of time to prepare

Serena Visai, Italy

2016-11-07 19:21:17 UTC

I really enjoyed Antonio contribution, and I agree with the fact that we have to rethink both the role of the students and teachers if we want to succeed in a collaborative activity. I like using digital tools, especially when I need my students to practise certain language structures and I know they get easily distracted or bored (they are 10-13 years old) . But I don’t know much about collaborative tools, a part from Edmodo digital classroom. I really need to improve this aspect together with interdisciplinary teaching. Working together is not just the students matter! ��

Carmen Carella, Marche, Italy

carmencarella — 2016-11-07 19:43:16 UTC

I think Antonio’s teenager students must find the 2 projects very exciting, as they make them work as a team, and help each other, being involved in meaningful and complex tasks. From the teacher’s point of view it must be very hard to plan all the activities, create the assessment rubrics, manage and monitor the class.
the benefits Antonio points out are exactly the goal of collaborative teaching and learning
About the challenges he experiences I think any teacher would find difficult to move the focus from the teacher to the learner, probably as a matter of being proud about what you know and the experience you have, which is a challenge for me too. As for the group dynamics, assess themselves and recognizing the level of acquirement of skills and knowledge is not always easy. Managing and monitoring the single groups must be top-difficult for teachers, unless they propose to students tasks that have the right level of complexity and also that are of great interest to them so that they become more engaged. During the Mystery Skype guessing game I implemented, my monitoring among group was pretty easy because they seemed they didn’t need me as they already knew what to do, but this happened because of an accurate planning beforehand.
Finally, I agree with Antonio on the use of collaborative digital tools and reorganizing the space in the classroom, which would make the students feel they are having more fun and feel more at ease and free to move and cooperate. I also suggest to assign precise roles with names to each group, making them more recognizable, and make the task in a way that each group is interdependent with the others.

drazena_potocki — 2016-11-07 20:34:46 UTC

interesting video

Valeria Manfreda, Italy

valy74manfry — 2016-11-07 20:37:30 UTC

Rubrics, check list are very interesting and I know Innovative design that is very interesting. We can use a collaborative way with technology but also sharing ideas with LIM or with ideas circle o Fenice Check list. I agree with him to improve digital literacy, tools, self reflection, development of 21th skills.

Sarah Mallia, Malta

sarahborg85 — 2016-11-07 21:07:06 UTC

I can relate to Antonio's challenges as they are the same challenges encountered in my class also. I think that Antonio's methods is the best way for collaborative work through ICT. What a better way to collaborate with the members in your school, country and other international countries from using eTwinning ? I also like other tools mentioned by Antonio which assess students' collaborations in smaller segments such as Kahoot. I agree with Antonio that digital tools can simplify collaborative working and enhance it. I also think that we should start assessing students in a different way by using digital tools. The end product will be successful. Thanks Antonio for the reflective questions.

Massimo, Italy

massimo_pescato — 2016-11-07 21:14:24 UTC

I've never heard about Kahoot. It seems a very useful tool. I think I will use it as soon as possible.

Despoina Amarantidou, Greece

damarant — 2016-11-07 21:25:22 UTC

Nice video, indeed. Antonio combines assessment tools with collaborative work.

Angelo, Rivoli, Italy

Angelo — 2016-11-07 21:28:34 UTC

I think that the activity described by Antonio was absolutely amazing and very enriching for him and for students. A great enthusiasm shines through his words. I'd like to know some more details about the projects realized by Antonio and his students, the contents and the process of work.
My experience leads me to share Antonio's conclusion about the benefits of the work in groups.
1) Team work require very different methods of evaluation. Team works are made exactly with this purpose: to assess dimensions that escape traditional assessment.
2) I think the collaborative learning evaluation method should be independent of content and age. With age change the expected levels of collaboration. Not all contents lend themselves to a collaborative learning work of the same kind.
3) In a group work there are different dimension to evaluate. In brief, the final product may have the same rating for all members of the group; process evaluation may differ from member to member.
4) I think we should find a fair balance between the assessment of the final product, which I think should have the greatest weight (60-70%), and process evaluation, which should have a significant weight (30-40%).

Roberta Minì

robertamini — 2016-11-07 21:34:58 UTC

I agree with the collegue as far as the 7 benefits of collaborative learning assessment and I as well agree on the regular communication between peers and peers and teachers. The use of collaborative digital tools would be great if all the students had them at disposal. I totally agree with the innovative envirornment in the classroom that definitely makes the collaboration friendlier.
But I always have my doubts and difficulties about individual and/or group assessment.
I think that student outcomes should be assessed on competences avoiding traditional grades and it can be applied to all disciplines.
Focussing on the process or on the product? We should consider both as they are interdipendent in the students' work.

Achilleas, Cyprus

axilleask — 2016-11-07 21:47:56 UTC

Another very interesting video. I agree with all the 7 benefits that Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning.

Teresa

toliv2 — 2016-11-07 22:31:37 UTC

Interesting video. I agree with Antonio and I also agree that the use of digital tools and the reorganization of the classroom space are very important.

Carla Diogo, Portugal

2016-11-07 22:40:07 UTC

Another interesting video and this time from Portugal ;)
It's quite good to check that these type of tasks are also being introduced in the professional courses that is precisely what I have been trying to do in the last few years. Having things and assessment clear before the beginning of the tasks is essential to me. Thanks for having suggested TeamUp - I did not know it. I share with António all the advantages and challenges of collaborative tasks and let me try to answer you briefly:
1) If we are working in a collaborative way we should assess students in a different way (not in the traditional one)
2) the age of the students interferes in the way we are assessing. There are some subjects that tend to accept these methods better but it can be done in all of them.
3)That still is my BIGGEST problem.
4)We have to give more importance to the process than to the product.

Elvia/Italy

2016-11-07 22:40:44 UTC

I use collaborative learning in the classroom not all the time but most of it: sometimes children have to realize a product, other time they work in pair to writing a text, drawing or looking for information, materials and so on. Some parents are still a little bit puzzled because they do not believe in technology for education, but they are supporting me, anyway.They do that because they see how much time I work; at school some colleagues are very interested in it, in fact we have formed groups who are focused on collaborative learning; other colleagues do not want to be involved because all this extra work is free.
Finally, I can say that school need to change to be closer to youngsters and carry on speaking their own language.

Angelamaria Galderisi, Italy

soleemare_a — 2016-11-07 22:48:56 UTC

The projects described in the video are really challenging. In my opinion, the most important benefits of collaborative learning assessment are the students’ involvement in the assessment task, their responsibility and motivation towards the learning process and the development of 21st century skills and competences. I agree that the main challenges in assessing collaborative learning are the group dynamics, the group assessment versus individual assessment and the time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the classroom.
I think that digital tools can really be used to support teacher’s planning activities, to efficiently observe student groups and deliver feedback. Reorganizing the classroom space can introduce more collaboration-friendly dynamics in the classroom, too. The most important point is more interdisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials amongst teachers to facilitates collaborative teaching and learning.

Atanasija, Croatia

2016-11-07 22:57:01 UTC

Very interesting video! It showed us how to successfully combine ICT tool and collaborative work

Fátima, Portugal

fffcaeiro — 2016-11-07 23:09:13 UTC

I would like to use collaborative activities much more than I really do. I really like to co-work with my students and as they learn more, I also learn with them. The big problem is that, as I teach a subject that has a final national exam and contents are very long, I can't spend all the time I would like to, to some projects... Anyway, I think my students have already learn a lot with some different and enthousiastic experiences we've already done!

Natalija, Serbia

2016-11-07 23:09:19 UTC

Digital tools can really be used to support teacher’s planning activities, to efficiently observe student groups and deliver feedback. I also use "Lino", "Padlet" to share ideas, opinions, works among students. I also use quiz online. I agree that creating innovative lessons means spending a lot of time to prepare them. Reorganizing the classroom space can introduce more friendly dynamics in the classroom. The most important point is more interdisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials amongst teachers to facilitates collaborative teaching and learning.

Francesca, Italy

francescagiala — 2016-11-07 23:22:16 UTC

The two projects, as well as usually are all the Etwinning projects, are really interesting.

I am totally agree with the seven benefits of collaborative learning assessment and in my experience of collaborative learning I have observed the same challenges and the same problems, like Antonio.

I think that the methodological process which is used in collaborative learning need to be applied to all disciplines and classes. ��<�

Alessandro, Italy (

maralex100 — 2016-11-08 00:23:57 UTC

Very interesting project. I think it's not so easy to have a teachers collaboration in the same school, where usually collegues don't have time and/or don't want to leave the "confort zone". Abroad is different, and usually it's exiting!!! I love digital tools, I use its wherever I can. About assessment, it's right do it even it's not so easy, but I think it is necessary. The initial rubric is a very good job!

Elisabetta, SA

anicia1 — 2016-11-08 07:36:23 UTC

I think collaboration with other teachers is important, but I come from a context in which individuality has been considered a quality since now, so it is not always easy to overcome my insecurities, and the colleagues' ones , and work collaboratively. I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio speaks about and I really liked his rubrics: short and on point. The 4th question he poses, whether to pay more attention to the process or the product, is very interesting to me. I think in this kind of approach the process is more important than the performance, but I 'd love to hear from more experienced colleague

IvanaN

nenadic_ivana007 — 2016-11-08 09:28:50 UTC

I really like eTwinning projects as it gives me the opportunity to develop skill that we do not always have time to do in regular classes, collaboration included. I like that the student assessment is done by a checklist, as it is easy and take little time. Regarding the questions at the end, I believe we should take into account both the process and the final product in ratio 60:40.

Kimberley Edwards, Ireland

2016-11-08 09:30:03 UTC

Looks like an interesting project. I have found that some teachers and certain schools are more willing to share than others which can make it difficult for teacher collaboration. If we can't collaborate as teachers, how can we expect to set and example for our students? It is difficult to arrange and manage a good and well thought out collaborative project. I do face some of the same problems but I find that being on this collaborative space, I have learned a lot to help me planning activities.

Arnaud Perrier, France

2016-11-08 10:07:48 UTC

Antonio is absolutely right on the seven points that it evokes. What is difficult I think is first for the teacher to change posture. We tends to reproduce unconsciously what we lived years before. Therefore, we first have to change the perception of the teacher to then be able to change pupils' one. Antonio mentions the use of collaborative digital tools, reorganizing the classroom space. It's a good point but how doing it when you haven't a lot of space and no fund to put in ICT. However, I totally agree in introducing more interdisciplinary teaching.

Arnaud Perrier, France

2016-11-08 10:07:50 UTC

Cristina Paliotes, Portugal

2016-11-08 10:08:45 UTC

The projects described by Antonio are an excellent example of collaborative learning.The 7 benefits associated with collaborative learning are:
1 - It is a student-centered process

2 - Promotes students involvement in the assessment tasks

3 - Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process

4 - Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation

5 - Students can learn socially from each other

6 - Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications

7 - Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences

The greatest difficulty / challenge experienced in collaborative work with children aged 6-10 years is related to:

3 - Group evaluation versus individual evaluation

4 - Management of teams / groups of students so that all participate and collaborate in the activities

5 - Time available to prepare and apply the evaluation of collaboration in the classroom, these are my proposed solutions to solve these problems

I think digital tools are very useful, although I have never used them.

maria laura

beltramilaura1 — 2016-11-08 13:14:23 UTC

This work is ok, i like it! - eTwinning is already a collaborative space - collaborative learning must change the setting of the classroom and how to teach. It's necessary much participation as colleagues and families, not everyone knows that it is a methodology that improves learning and create difficulties for misunderstanding and ignorance.

Andrea Ullrich, Germany

MrsU — 2016-11-08 13:32:19 UTC

I totally agree with Antonio when it comes to the benefits and challenges of collaborative learning.
Technology and if we carry out the task in a foreign language or mother tongue play an important role though. If we have sufficient equipment at hand, students can reflect on their learning right away and teachers can follow easily.
I agree that students' argumentation is promoted, but I still think there is a difference between students reflecting in their mother tongue or having to concentrate on handling a foreign language at the same time.
That does not mean I don't use self or peer assessment in English classes, but I am aware of the difference.

Valerica-Romania

dvaly2010 — 2016-11-08 13:36:40 UTC

My students love etwinning projects and I always try to use collaborative activities taking into account the curricula. indeed it is difficult to plan and such activities but there are units where they are welcome to be used. The digital tools are useful, they hep us to improve our teaching and to make evaluation more clear and more efficient. in collaborative learning I think we have to focus on the process. The product is important, but I would rather prefer to see an effective collaboration.

emma giurlani

2016-11-08 14:31:42 UTC

Like Antonio I had many opportunities to experience the great benefits of eTwinning projects which have for their nature a strong collaborative character.

I also usualy work with kahoot and we make quizz games using skype . All our activities have been designed in collaboration by the teachers involved in the project. We use google drive and the learning designer for which we use a shared account we create expressely to plan and manage the project phases. Also for our project students create and used group portfolios. I think to introduce also individual portfolios for eTwinning projects. I didn’t know Lino application but we used ourboox and issuu. Groups created a google form to assess their work and we created also rubrics using RUBISTAR . I’m very curious about the use of TeamUp which I didn’t know before .

Related to the use of etwinning projects during these last 8 years I could identify the same benefits identified by Antonio João Lopes. I would add to the positiv aspects also the development of effective European cityzenship. We experienced (our students, my colleagues and me) almost the same challenges as Antonio mentions. Our students revealed difficulties most of all in dividing work and tasks equally among the group members and consequentely in assessing groupwork. They sometimes had to manage slight disagreements among the group members about collaboration and taking responsibility in the group. We benefited a lot from the use of web 2.0 tools both for planning the activities (learning designer , google drive..) and to share and create the rubrics like Rubistar or google forms and even google drive . Depending on the kind of activity to be performed we reorganized the classroom from time to time . I experience directly that more interdisciplinary

Teaching and sharing of materials amongst teachers facilitates collaborative teaching and learning as Antonio says.

I think that single assessment makes sense also by collaborative projects and I think students should be assessed using the same rubrics and the same shared checklists students have contributed to create during the activities they have performed .

Anna and Mary, Italy

annagrignetti — 2016-11-08 14:52:08 UTC

Antonio, compliments for your video. Very intersting!
We share the Seven benefits associated with assessing cooperative learning but it's not easy especially when you are alone to work in this way.
In the 21st century school digital tools are
indispensable to a good learning of students and for effective assessment.
Through this course we would like to improve the way we teach and assess.

Maria and Anna, Italy

mariadecarlo — 2016-11-08 14:52:44 UTC

Antonio compliments for your video. Very interesting! 
We share the benefits associated with assessing cooperative learning but it is not easy, especially when you are alone to work in this way.
In the 21st century school digital tools are indispensable to a good learning of students and for an effective assessment. Through this course we would like to improve the way we teach and asess.

Ana Cristina Ginja, Portugal

2016-11-08 15:23:58 UTC

The networks between schools, through the etwinning platform, promote the collaborative work to a global dimension.
These networks promote collaborative work through the development of common projects where they share knowledge, points of view and ways of doing ...
This interaction commits the parties to accomplish a common task where each partner collaborates responsibly and with a strong commitment to the achievement of something that is everyone's.

Marilena, Greece

becsa1 — 2016-11-08 16:39:50 UTC

Well, the benefits of collaborative learning are known. The challenges Antonio mentions are challenges all teachers face I think, but technology and web tools do help in a big way.

Jesus Leão, Portugal

2016-11-08 16:47:56 UTC

I begin my reflection for the end, noting that in collaborative learning environments I consider it more important to focus on the process when evaluating student performance. During the process it is possible to collect information about the competences of different levels: cognitive, social, academic, organizational, ...

I fully agree with the 7 benefits Antonio attributes to collaborative learning in eTwinning projects, namely:

It is a learner-centered process;
It promotes the students' involvement in the evaluation tasks;
Promotes students' responsibility and motivation in the learning process;
It promotes students' self-reflection and argumentation;
Students can socially learn from each other;
Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications;
Promotes the development of skills of the 21st century.

Regarding the challenges Antonio mentions, they are the same ones that I am facing because they require:
. a change of attitude and work dynamics, both of teachers and students;
. different group dynamics, since it requires of the students a positive attitude and receptivity to their involvement in the evaluation, which will have two strands: individual and in group;
. effective team management to ensure that everyone participates and collaborates in the activities;
. time available to prepare and apply collaborative assessment in the classroom.

The solutions that it presents to solve these problems seem pertinent to me but I think they are conditioned, because it is necessary the teachers are predisposed and they dominate the use of the TIC.

- It implies regular communication between peers / peers and teachers;

- Appeals to the use of digital tools to support planning work and to observe and monitor student groups to give them feedback and to help them publish and share their assessments;

- Requires a reorganization of classroom space;

- Involves interdisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials among teachers.

Unfortunately, in many of our schools this does not always happen!

Elisabete Carvalho, Paula Cavadas, Paula Usha, Olga Seabra_Portugal

elisabete — 2016-11-08 17:25:14 UTC

The projects described in this presentation are quite interesting and promote collaborative work. Antonio provides seven benefits:

a) It is a student-centered process;

b) Promotes students Involvement in the assessment tasks;

c) Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process;

d) Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation;

e) Students can learn socially from each other;

f) Literacy through digital promotes the use of digital web 2.0 applications and

g) Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences;

This type of activity promotes the acquisition of all those skills.

The challenges we face in the classroom are at all similar to Antonio:

a) Changing role of the teacher / students in the classroom;

b) Group dynamics: students must have the attitude and receptivity towards positive Their Involvement in the assessment;

c) Group assessment versus individual assessment;

d) Management of teams / groups of students so everyone que participates and collaborates in the activities and

e) Time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the classroom, the latter being the most difficult to achieve because it involves different variables in most of the time, are almost impossible to combine.

Although we agree with the benefits and challenges provided our classrooms are not yet equipped to carried them out. We have constrains in the facilities but we have constant and regular communication between peers (face to face or networking).

Elisabete Carvalho, Paula Cavadas, Paula Usha, Olga Seabra_Portugal

olga_seabra — 2016-11-08 17:29:25 UTC

The projects described in this presentation are quite interesting and promote collaborative work. Antonio provides seven benefits:

a) It is a student-centered process;

b) Promotes students Involvement in the assessment tasks;

c) Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process;

d) Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation;

e) Students can learn socially from each other;

f) Literacy through digital promotes the use of digital web 2.0 applications and

g) Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences;

This type of activity promotes the acquisition of all those skills.

The challenges we face in the classroom are at all similar to Antonio:

a) Changing role of the teacher / students in the classroom;

b) Group dynamics: students must have the attitude and receptivity towards positive Their Involvement in the assessment;

c) Group assessment versus individual assessment;

d) Management of teams / groups of students so everyone que participates and collaborates in the activities and

Maria Teresa /Italy

teresarughi — 2016-11-08 17:30:23 UTC

The projects described in the video require and implement collaboration both among teachers and students.I definetely agree with the benefits associated to collaborative learning, especially the changing role of teacher/student, the practice of group dynamics , the introduction of group assessment, the management of teams and groups. The group management and the time to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration are two problems I always cope with. Digital tools provide a great support in this sense and I often use http://teamup.aalto.fi/, http://en.linoit.com/.I've also used https://dotstorming.com/ and https://gsuite.google.com.
A fundamental truth is that assessing collaborative learning requires regular communication between peers and interdisciplinary teaching , so as reorganization of classroom space. These are the greatest challenges I always face.

Gisella de Liddo, Italy

2016-11-08 18:04:35 UTC

Both teachers' and students' collaboration in these two projects seemed well organized and profitable. I agree with Antonio's list of benefits associated to assessing collaborative learning. The challenges I have faced when applying collaborative learning were also linked to the different role of both teachers and students: students sometimes are more comfortable in the traditional role of listeners, because it requires less effort and they can also think about something else while pretending to listen, while in collaborative learning they are involved 100% all the time, and, thanks to modern society, they are not used to that anymore. Group dynamics are also a challenge: the roles and the tasks can create conflicts which must be handled with and managed in the best possible way, with the obvious help of the teacher. The assessment of the groups and the individuals must be accurately prepared by the teacher, who will explain the assessment criteria before the activity. And, last but not least, the quantity of time needed to prepare and implement this type of activity is great, nobody wants to deny it. However, it is worth while!

Galya Baeva, Bulgaria

gbaeva — 2016-11-08 18:41:40 UTC

I find the questions for reflexion at the end of the video very important to be answered, especially 2 of them:"Is the way we ssess collaborative learning independent of the curriculum and of

the student’s age

group?" & " Is it more important to focus on the process or on the product when grading student’s performance?". My answer to the first question is "Yes." and to the second one "No", because it is equal,importan I think.

Viviana, Italy

vivianasavino75 — 2016-11-08 19:13:52 UTC

Antonio's projects are wonderful and suitable. I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning, even if assessment is always a challenge we have to face. Digital tools, reorganizing the classroom space and interdisciplinary teaching are useful tips; i often use Prezi, Tagul and other applications in order to encourage pupils' collaborative work.

Caterina Fantini, Italy

cate_67 — 2016-11-08 20:35:53 UTC

Interesting video. I agree with Antonio: use of digital tools, reorganize the classroom space and use more interdisciplinary teaching are very important.

Salomé, Portugal

2016-11-08 21:16:25 UTC

I really liked the projects described by Antonio and agree to the 7 benefits that are associated with collaborative learning referring to:

1 - It is a student-centered process

2 - Promotes students Involvement in the assessment tasks

3 - Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process

4 - Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation

5 - Students can learn from each other socially

6 - Digital Promotes literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications

7 - Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences

As for the challenges consider that the greatest and also those who I face are:

Group assessment versus individual assessment

4 - Management of teams / groups of students so everyone participates and

collaborates in the activities

5 - Time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the class

I also consider that digital tools can be very useful, I have participated in projects e-twinning in which I used tools such as creating blogs or multiple applications.

Isabel Graça, Portugal

2016-11-08 21:56:41 UTC

Very inspiring projects although from a very special area: ICT. I’m sure all benefits are consensual and pose no doubts. I agree with all the challenges he mentions, particularly the time needed to prepare and implement assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom. I believe that the use of collaborative digital tools can help but we cannot forget that teachers are not all in the ICT area, and they/we also need time to learn how to use these tools, train and time to implement them in teaching practice.

Filipe Mira, Portugal

filipe_mira — 2016-11-08 22:24:44 UTC

I agree with the project presented in the videos and I think that the 7 benefits described by Antonio are fundamental to evaluating collaborative learning. I think the big problem is the time we need to implement collaborative learning since the curriculum is extensive. I also agree that the use of digital tools is interesting but often in schools there are no conditions to apply them (slow internet, just one computer per room, among other problems related to technology).

Ana Pinheiro, Portugal

air_pinheiro — 2016-11-08 22:50:46 UTC

Collaborative learning seems not to be a current practice in schools, and it is not usual to think about the evaluation for this type of activity. Should the evaluation be different from the traditional one? I think so. I know that we all think and define evaluation criteria for a group work but a group work, it may not be collaborative learning.I think about the shared issues, especially the last one, but at the moment I am reflecting and still uncertain.

Arlindo Pereira, Portugal

2016-11-08 22:51:11 UTC

I think that these projects are very interesting from the student and the teacher point of view. I fully agree with the seven benefits that are associate to assessing collaborative learning. Times are different, so it´s necessary the challenges in concerning group dynamics, team management and the time needed to prepare and implement the assessment. I agree about the importance of the digital tools reorganizing the classroom. Sometimes it is difficult the work between teachers because they haven´t time, don´t have training to apply these tools or have different mentalities; the first two aspects depend on policies and should be improved to facilitate the teaching-learning process.

Ana, Portugal

anasalonso — 2016-11-08 23:04:03 UTC

I agree with the seven benefits António associates to assessing collaborative learning. I also agree that the use of digital tools and the reorganization of the classroom space are very important. I've never heard about Kahoot although it seems to me a very useful tool.

Paulo Martins_Portugal

2016-11-08 23:56:29 UTC

António identifies 7 benefits of collaborative learning assessment, but the first one “It is a student-centered process” if he referes the student as an individual, in my opinion should be more focused on the group in a way that they try to achieve an outcome due to their common effort.

Helly, Vienna

h_swaton — 2016-11-09 05:42:46 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits. Very important to me is that collaboration promotes development of 21st century skills. We all have to find ways to manage the challenge between group assessments versus individual assessment. And using digital tools will be more and more necessary.

Mirjana Jovanovic, Serbia

mirjana_jovanovic_ns — 2016-11-09 06:21:54 UTC

I agree with the importance of all benefits Antonio has mentioned. In my opinion, in collaborative learning the approach to assessment of student outcomes is slightly different than in traditional way. However, focus should not be just on the process or on the final product - it should be equally spread over both components of learning process. Assessment of collaborative learning is surely independent of student's age. But the approach to assessment ought to be adapted to their age. The sooner students get used to collaborative learning assessment, the more benefits they will achieve.

Dorota Sobierańska, Poland

ds_sobieranscy — 2016-11-09 07:39:35 UTC

Antonio João Lopes wrote, that one of “the main challenges he experienced in assessing collaborative learning were: Changing role of the teacher/students in the classroom. (…) Assessing collaborative learning requires regular communication between peers and peers and teachers”. From my observation: it is very difficult for teachers to communicate with students, and not just talk to them. Especially when children are young (kindergarten and primary school).

Hülya, TURKEY

hulyaos31 — 2016-11-09 08:33:14 UTC

I agree with Antonio and also I agree with 7 benefits of collaborative learning assesment. These benefits are pathfinder benefits that we can use during the preparing our lesson plans or activities. However, I am not sure about that student-centered project may be it must be group worked. On the other hand, the teacher must be careful about giving assesment to student and a group. The teacher must be manage the activity more carefully and all group memebers work with shared responsibility. I agree that digital tools can be used to support teacher’s planning activities. The use of collaborative digital tools enables teachers to efficiently observe student groups and deliver feedback. Digital tools can also support students to publish and share their assessments. Also time can be a problem.
I think this assessment is not traditional. In collaborative learning environments, the teacher must be focused on both product and process. During the assessment the teacher must give grade fairly.

Ester Degennaro- Italy

esterdegennaro — 2016-11-09 09:09:19 UTC

I totally agree with Antonio 7 benefits of collaborative learning. I'm running an eTwinning project called " Digital learning team" which put the students' to the centre of learning. Using collaborative digital tools, reorganizing the classroom space are useful tips to reach an interdisciplinary learning which allow students to share their work with other groups in a collaborative learning environment.

Ana Franco, Barcelos, Portugal

ana_lufranco — 2016-11-09 09:35:39 UTC

I completely agree with Antonio. And from these points those that I think are more interesting are: 3 - Promotes the responsibility and motivation of the students For the learning process
6 - Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications
7 - Promotes the development of skills and competences of the 21st century.

I have, as I mentioned in previous situations, some doubts in point 4 - It promotes students' self-reflection and argumentation, as there are some difficult implementation factors here.

As for peer-to-peer sharing, it should have been a common practice, as there are a thousand different ways of showing content and projects beyond the many different and diverse tools. In addition, we have huge bureaucracy in hand and if everyone focused on this type of initiative and shared it would be much better and more productive.

Isabella Santoro, Italy

2016-11-09 10:09:44 UTC

Digital tools, reorganizing teaching space of the classroom and intedisciplinary teaching are very useful tips for to suppot teacher' s palnning activities, to create a real collaborative teaching and learning and to assess it.

Paula Gomes, Portugal

2016-11-09 10:57:45 UTC

I agree with António 7 benefits of collaborative learning.
From these points i think the more interesting is:
-promotes the responsability and motivation of the studentes for the learning process.

Vasso Lalakidou, Greece

lalakidou — 2016-11-09 11:16:00 UTC

We live in a digital world, thus technology is a part of our students' lives. So, including ICT in our lessons is an attractive way to bridge real life with knowledge. On the other hand, collaboration can be more effective through digital tools and I totally agree with both benefits and challenges presented on the video. Finally, last year I used with my students Edmodo environment in order to teach fractions from an ethnomathematical and ethnomusicological perspective (interdisciplinary teaching of fractions). Furthermore, we applied a co-operation of general and special education classes in which there was one online class with two teachers instead of two different classes with two teachers. Indeed ICT was the channel to achieve this collaboration which was not only between students but between teachers as well.

Francesca, Italy

francesca_lombardi1973 — 2016-11-09 13:58:54 UTC

Nice projects, I appreciate them. I believe the cooperative learning method is the best way to improve the integration of notions and guiding principles from multiple disciplines. The most challenging part of interdisciplinary instruction is moving beyond examination of an issue from the lens of multiple disciplines, to the synthesis and integration of insights into a more inclusive framework of analysis.

Vanesa, Croatia

2016-11-09 14:35:17 UTC

Those were very interesting projects. I've never done e twinning projects but I would like to.
I agree with Antonio's seven benefits of collaborative learning and his challenges, as well. Those challenges are the same I face.

Nikos, Greece

ntsepelis1 — 2016-11-09 14:46:00 UTC

I agree with Antonio.
Digital tools are the basic part of COLAB teaching, but they have
to be implemented in a reorganised class.

Alessandro Ruffino

2016-11-09 15:27:52 UTC

I totally agree with Antonio. I'm an eTwinner too, and I integrate the curriculo in the etwinning project, where students work in group using collaborative learning. ICT plays an important role to develop the eTwinning project because students have to collaborate, using web tools, to carry out the tasks assigned.

Maria, Italia

mariagranatiero — 2016-11-09 16:34:30 UTC

Of course, I agree with Antonio. Big work

Camelia Vesa, România

2016-11-09 17:27:55 UTC

The projects described by Antonio are very interesting and challenging. I’ve never participate in a e-Twinning project but I would like to. I agree with the benefits of the assessment: students are responsible and motivated in the learning process, they can monitor their own understanding and learning needs in self assessment. The assessment is more objective and consistent. Using check list evaluation of student's work time required is reduced and the effectiveness of training is examined using a variety of methods. I agree with Antonio’s idea to use collaborative digital tools, to introduce more interdisciplinary teaching and to share of materials among teachers, because if teachers do not collaborate, how could they be able to teach students?

Costas Moschonas

2016-11-09 17:38:04 UTC

I totally agree with Antonio and I have the same questions with him for the implementation of collaborative assessment.

Kateryna Kramnychna, Ukraine

rocksy_12 — 2016-11-09 18:00:48 UTC

I like this video. Those projects are really great work of both teacher and students. Also it develops all necessary key competences of the 21th century.
Great job, thank you!

Gina, Italy

ginapalumbo — 2016-11-09 18:06:03 UTC

I think that process and product are both important.

Jaime Martins, Portugal

joncmartins — 2016-11-09 18:18:59 UTC

I think that collaborative work with other teachers from our school or from partner schools in international projects are always very useful, motivated (for teachers and students) challenging and really very interesting.
I agree with the 7 benefits António associates to assessing collaborative learning.
António as an ICT teacher mentioned some experiences with digital tools that a great part of teachers don't have, but all of us can create our own "tools" and shouldn't be insecure using our creativity to create them in order to assess our students' collaborative work.
Participating in these courses all of us are learning to create each time better tools and even digital tools, innovating our students' collaborative work.

Carmen Rodríguez, UK

c_rodvix — 2016-11-09 18:24:28 UTC

It has been really interesting to listen to Antonio´s experience as he was sharing not only the benefits of collaborative learning through eTwinning (I totally agree with it) but also the reality and the challenges that we have to face when carrying collaborative activities out: time available, management of teams so everybody participates...That’s a part of our reality so it´s helpful to see how other teachers and in this particular case Antonio cope with it. The most important thing is that, although there are “challenges”, we can face them and if we try and work together we can always get better … Definitely, the use of digital collaborative tools can help, even just reorganizing the classroom space, as Antonio mentioned, can make a change…. Thanks Antonio for sharing you valuable experience J��1r��$

DEBORA

debora_defina — 2016-11-09 18:57:09 UTC

I think that the different assessment methods give the opportunuty to choose the best to give to your students in according to the specific project to realize. It is important to give to students a clear scheme before creating the project, so students have a clear way to start their work-

Maria Tiago, Portugal

mariatiago — 2016-11-09 19:29:45 UTC

Congratulations for your great collaborative work not only among teachers and students from your school as well as among students and techers from different nationalities.

I do agree with all the benefits mentioned once there are academic skills really promoted such as Critical Thinking Skills, Oral Communication Skills development, acting, involving, exploratory Learning environments . In what concerns the social skills it fosters and develops interpersonal relationships

Teachers can observe students working on assignments together and individually within their groups when students work above it is very difficult for the teacher to observe most of the students during a class. This is especially real in large classes. Collaborative learning provides the lecturer with many opportunities to observe students interacting, explaining their reasoning, asking questions and discussing their ideals and concepts.

The challenges I face are very alike to Antonio’s and the mentioned use of collaborative digital tools can relieve teachers of the additional paperwork required; the flexibility of the classroom space , the interdisciplinary teaching / teachers work and the sharing of materials amongst teachers are useful tips which can be a great help to develop freative, authonomous citizens.

Vitalija, Lithuania

2016-11-09 19:35:10 UTC

It was really interesting to listen to Antonio's experience how he encourages students' interaction, how they work together and learn collaboratively. Collaborative work with other teachers from their school and from partner schools in projects is very useful, motivated, great. But not all students take part in them.
I agree with Antonio's seven benefits and challenges of collaborative learning. I do think that in the 21st century digital tools are indispensable to a good learning of students and for the effective assessment, but, it's a pity, I'm not experienced enough in that much. I am not an ICT teacher...

Marianthi Arvanitidou -Greece

1canislupus22 — 2016-11-09 19:45:16 UTC

ICT increases the flexibility of delivery of education so that learners can access knowledge anytime and from anywhere. It can influence the way students are taught and how they learn as now the processes are learner driven and not by teachers. This in turn would better prepare the learners for lifelong learning as well as to improve the quality of learning. In concert with geographical flexibility, technology-facilitated educational programs also remove many of the temporal constraints that face learners with special needs

Elisabete Cruz-Portugal

elisabete_cruz3 — 2016-11-09 19:57:51 UTC

I liked the projects described by Antonio. From the point of view of student and teacher collaboration there are many benefits to both. I think that It is a projet thaht can be also aplicated in other ages.
The group dynamics, sometimes , is not easy, but it is urgent. Traditional teaching has its days counted. The management and time needed to prepare and implement assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom – are challenges that we infront. Wiht collaborative digital tools we can reorganizing the classroom space and introducing more interdisciplinary teaching and sharing materials amongst teachers . I had an experience very recently in my school and I really enjoyed it. It was given by a colleague of Geography who is doing Erasmus with colleagues from Italy. We make a contest with questions about Geography, Arts and English, and they were able to check their knowledge immediately. Their enthusiasm for learning was overwhelming.

Marta, Portugal

istruka — 2016-11-09 23:10:20 UTC

The benefits of collaborative work are far more than just learning subject content and that is why I think its assessment is so important. In a world where inclusive classrooms are a reality, collaborative work is a way to promote that inclusion along with peer collaboration in learning. Students develop social skills as well as learning skills and they face and deal with the difference in a more direct way. So, yes. I do agree with the seven benefits associated to the collaborative work by António

Tatjana Lipovac, Serbia

lipovact — 2016-11-10 06:53:48 UTC

Excellent collaboration!

Heidi, Germany

2016-11-10 07:35:46 UTC

This is an amazing example of collaborative learning not only in one classroom but also within Europe. I fully agree with the 7 benefits Antonio mentionned in his presentation. I also used teamup tool in my project work with etwinning and I like it very much. It helps alot in organizing groups, collecting material, discussing and asking questions. I would like to have a list of collaborative digital tools, maybe in the ressources area?

Cinzia Centrone

centrone_cinzia — 2016-11-10 07:50:41 UTC

I agree with Antonio in order to the benefits os assessment. The process is centered on student and promotes students involvment in the assessmnt, responsability, motivation, self reflection, skills. Of course teacher must be ready to change his traditional role; he has to use digitals tools to support the work; he has to reorganize the classroom space to improve collaboration and his activity needs interdidisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials. Al last, I think that in grading student's performance it is very important to focus on the process.

Sue

suzanne_durick — 2016-11-10 11:09:31 UTC

Great collaboration. I have never heard of eTwinning but I'd love to try it.
I also agree with the 7 benefits of assessing collaborative learning, I also have been faced with similar challenges. Overall I think the challenges faced working in a group are very realistic to working in any group on any activity in a real world situation. The stumbling blocks, the motivational challenges, the individual differences between students all exist in the world outside of the classroom too therefore they are a huge benefit to the learning experience too.

Julia, Portugal

2016-11-10 12:51:27 UTC

I agree with Antonio's words but I think these practices are not implemented regularly and I think we could all win in their implementation.

Ioannis Velonakis, Greece

ivelonak — 2016-11-10 14:27:27 UTC

All the projects which are described by Antonio are quite complex and enble collaboration not only of students but also of teachers from different European countries. All of them had the chance not only to work together but also to understand different cultures. I strongly agree with all the benefits of colaborative learning that Antonio decribes and also with all the challenges he desclaimes. Especially the last ones are faced in any approach of collaborative learning. Also, the use of collaborative digital tools and the exchange of materials among teachers is very useful . I have used google docs, drive and hangouts for similar purposes and my students had found it helpful and interesting. Also, reorganizing the classroom and using interdisciplanary teaching benefits the whole process.

Agata Kuźmiek - Poland

2016-11-10 14:46:04 UTC

Very good cooperation. I never had any contact with eTwinning system BUT I would like to see ten. I Compatible with 7 assessment of the advantages wspólneczo learning. According to me, I think that the challenges are waiting for us in the work are very real.

Carlos Silva, Portugal

2016-11-10 15:03:05 UTC

I agree with the benefits mentioned. The different tools presented, like Lino, Padlet, Kahoot, Teamup and others are really important for these collaborative projects. Myself, I feel the same challenges mentioned about changing role of the students in the classroom, group assessment and individual assessment and group dynamics and team management. It´s important change the way students see the team work and these collaborative projects.

Sara Gamito, Portugal

sgamito — 2016-11-10 16:32:43 UTC

One of the great benefits of collaborative learning is to instill motivation and accountability for our students in this type of learning.

Teresa Pires, Portugal

2016-11-10 16:36:01 UTC

I appreciated the projects described by Antonio and I agree with the 7 benefits that are associated with collaborative learning to mention:
1 - It is a student-centered process
2 - Promotes students involvement in the assessment tasks
3 - Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process
4 - Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation
5 - Students can learn socially from each other
6 - Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications
7 - Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences
As for the challenges I consider the biggest and those I also face are:
Group assessment versus individual assessment
4 - Management of teams / groups of students so that everyone participates and
Collaborates in the activities
5 - Time to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the class
I also think that digital tools can be very useful, I myself have already participated in e-twinning projects in which I used tools such as the creation of blogs or various applications.

João Reigado, Portugal

2016-11-10 17:27:12 UTC

From what I listened, the first project partly depends on the collaboration between teachers. As far as I can foretell, both projects “Digital explorers” and “Smart” seem to motivate students to work collaboratively. I totally agree with the benefits that have been assigned to the assessment of collaborative learning. Nevertheless, I think I would cross the data obtained from the prior application of a Likert scale (it doesn’t seem a checklist…) with the same scale applied in the end of the project, to the same students. Thus, this could be an important evaluation element once the teacher would have a measure of how much has changed in student learning during the project, considering the rubrics that were mentioned (creativity, autonomy, etc.). I really enjoyed the several methods of assessment Antonio used in the second project, “Smart”, especially the integration of teamup as a useful tool for assessment purposes. From the list of challenges Antonio mentioned I would elect time available to prepare and apply the assessment of collaboration as the most difficult to operationalize. I think the use of digital tools can be useful to assess learning outcomes and delivering feedback to the teacher.

As a music teacher, a great amount of the curriculum is intended to be based on collaborative learning. Every academic year I start my classes explaining to my students that collaborative skills are fundamental in music education and they are as much important as academic skills. Particularly, in my classes I’ve been working with pairs of learners who practice the same musical instrument (I call them unos & duplos). We abolished the tables in the music classroom, so the space is quite different from a traditional classroom. The re-organization of students in different teams / groups is a constant. I explain students that the assessment I will carry out will reflect the collaboration between them, i.e., the more they help each other throughout the process of learning a new song / music, the better it will sound the final performance. I’ve been using TeacherKit app as a great tool either for formative and self-assessment.

Stavroula Lada, Greece

pde4424 — 2016-11-10 17:40:05 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio attributes to collaborative learning in eTwinning projects, which are :

The learner-centered process
The students' involvement in the evaluation tasks
The students' responsibility and motivation in the learning process
The students' self-reflection and argumentation
The fact that students socially learn from each other
The digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 tools
The development of skills of the 21st century.

The challenges Antonio mentions are the same ones which I face in my teaching reality, and are about

1. different group dynamics, since it requires of the students a positive attitude and receptivity to their involvement in the evaluation

2. the change of attitude and work dynamics

3. the most important of all, is the time available to prepare and apply collaborative assessment in the classroom

Possible solutions are

a. the good planning of the activities and the criteria of assessment

b. the positive classroom environment

c. the taking into account the students' interests

d. the creative use of web 2 tools

Mimma, Italy

mimma_gioia — 2016-11-10 18:27:04 UTC

I agree with 7 benefits Antonio speaks about and I really liked this rubrics. The use of collaborative digital tools would be great if all the students had them at disposal. I would like to use collaborative activities much more than I really do. I agree that creating innovative lessons means spending a lot of time to prepare them.

Heidi Belgium

heidi_schrijvers — 2016-11-10 18:47:55 UTC

I agree. I work a lot with other teachers at school. If we have found something interesting we share amongst the team. We also like to work cross course. Meaning we make a project that the students work in in different classes. Time needed to prepare and implement assesment is indeed not always easy. But when you can get help from other teachers it will give you also other insight and motivate you. Classroom space could be a problem for some.

Maria Panou/ Kalymnos, Greece

maria_themelis — 2016-11-10 18:50:55 UTC

I completely agree with Stavroula Lada, Greece.

Olgica, Serbia

olgicaspasojevic — 2016-11-10 19:10:59 UTC

Team up is a good tool for collaborative work. eTwinning is a great oportunity for collaboration between students and between teachers.

Nehir ÇABUKER

nehircabuker — 2016-11-10 21:00:47 UTC

I like padlet for collaborative works

cristina, Romania

cristinapeicuti — 2016-11-10 22:11:46 UTC

I use of collaborative digital tools

Anabela Gonçalves, José Rui Ferreira and Teresa Fonseca, Portugal

2016-11-10 22:22:32 UTC

The use of technologies in the classroom is a reality, but that in itself will not be a facilitator in collaborative learning. We think that collaborative learning can facilitate interdisciplinary work, but it depends on the existence of common contents or themes in the several subjects that students attend, which in secondary education does not always happen.

As for the questions put forward for
reflection, we think that:

- evaluation can and should be done
by non-traditional methods, that is more appropriate to the type of work
developed by students;

- the choice of collaborative
learning should not depend on the curriculum and/or on pupils’ ages. In our
opinion, it should be used in shorter periods of time than those presented in
the learning scenarios. In Portugal we have a national curriculum, established
by the Ministry of Education, which makes us teach specific contents in a certain number of classes.

Maria Stalia

mastalia — 2016-11-10 23:16:49 UTC

I totally agree with the 7 benefits of collaborative teaching and that's why I have been doing etwinning projects for the last 12 years of my teaching. However, the challenges of lack of time, lack of ICT infrastructure and knowledge of ICT collaborative tools by my pupils as well as the scarcity or absence of my colleagues' will to collaborate in iterdisciplinary projects are very common in my teaching context.

Cristiana, Portugal

cristianafreire — 2016-11-10 23:22:14 UTC

I agree with collaborative projects between teachers, if possible involving different disciplines; among students from different countries, can be culturally very interesting.

I agree with the benefits described by Antonio, especially those regarding the involvement and responsibility of the student for their own learning, as well as the development of digital skills, so important in our days. In my opinion, I would also emphasize the capacity for argumentation and socialization.

For me, the biggest challenge is to be able to present learning scenarios that are sufficiently captivating, that respond to the fulfillment of the school programs as well as the interests / motivations of the students.

The digital tools are important, but as I already said in previous comments, they are not absolutely indispensable, mainly because I do not think we can go from 8 to 80 in a short period of time! It needs time to assimilate change under penalty of these changes not being understood as learning opportunities.

Isabel Nunes, Portugal

2016-11-11 00:25:28 UTC

The projects have provided great opportunities for the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom. Learning through projects provides rich environments, challenges and groups management evaluation methodologies..

During the project, the use of digital tools. The project, implemented methods of formative assessment and summative, supported by Web 2.0 applications: before the execution of the project, implemented with several items checklist in order to assess: creativity, autonomy, cooperation, quality of work and presentation of the project.

I agree with your thoughts on the assessment of the project. Were identified the following benefits of collaborative learning:

1 -Is a student-centered process

2 -student involvement promotes

3- Evaluation tasks – promotes students responsibility and motivation for the learning process 4 - promotes the argument of self-reflection and

5 - students-students can learn socially with others

6 - Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications

7 - Promotes development of 21st century skills and competencies

The main challenges experienced in evaluation of collaborative learning: 1-evolution of the role of teachers/students in the classroom. 2-dynamic group: students must have a positive attitude and receptivity to their involvement in the evaluation 3-Group assessment vs. individual assessment 4-managing teams/groups of students so that everyone participates and collaborates in activities 5-time available to prepare and implement collaborative assessment in the classroom.

Olga Keramida-Greece

olkeramida — 2016-11-11 03:25:02 UTC

Great presentation and assessment.

Angeliki Kougiourouki, Greece

akougiou — 2016-11-11 04:59:24 UTC

I totally agree with what it is said by Antonio. As an active eTwinner I develop projects throughout the curriculum of a primary school and very often my pupils have to work in groups as well as in transnational teams where they have to collaborate with classmates from abroad. Of course I agree with the 7 mentioned benefits as I do agree that web tools offer us a support while planning activities and also evaluate them. As for he challenges mentioned, it is something that we should have in mind while developing projects either in National and International level.

Simona, the Czech Republic

simonabrothankova — 2016-11-11 07:22:37 UTC

I can see Antonio has a lot of experience. I agree with the befefits as well as the challenges. I assume the younger the students, the more playful they are, so they are more willing to participate actively. Teenage students are like adults - not so enthusiastic any more but more thoughtful and some of them serious. I love the idea of reorganizing classroom furniture. I also appreciate that students must communicate more, which is vital these days.

Armindo Serra - Portugal

profarmindoserra — 2016-11-11 10:03:14 UTC

From what I saw in the video, I think the important thing is to have collaborative work by the teachers, but in both the "digital explorers" and "smart" projects, in my opinion they are motivators for the students, they are facilitators and supporters of collaborative work, Students will naturally share and exchange opinions and ideas throughout the process / work.

I'm of the same opinion that both projects presented offer an enormous wealth of social skills in terms of collaborative work and techniques. And they demonstrate the benefits that are attached to the assessment of collaborative learning.

I would use more elements, so as to have bases of comparison, in order to understand how much the learner has changed / evolved during the project, always having as references the rubrics mentioned in the video (creativity, autonomy, etc.). ).
I liked the use of the accelerator tools in the second project, "Smart", since the integration of "teamup" as a useful tool for evaluation purposes and "kahoot", to obtain process feedback.

As a teacher of arts, I work mainly in methodology project and in group, soon using the collaborative learning.
I throughout my teaching-learning process always use various accelerators and feedback tools for evaluation and guidance in the preparation / planning and as well as reference for evaluation of all the work done by the students.

Some examples of some tools I use:
Socrative - http://www.socrative.com/
Poplet - https://popplet.com/

(etc...)

Catia, Sweden

katyfpr — 2016-11-11 11:03:22 UTC

I did not know about eTwinning. I was reading a little bit more about this European project and I agree with Antonio. It is a very powerful tool for implementing collaboration. When students have the opportunity to talk with other students, with different backgrounds they will learn most more.
I also agree with Antonio about the challenges. It is not easy to change the role of teachers and students, and change from individual assessment to a group assessment. Teachers and students need to be prepared and be aware of this challenges from the beginning.

Ana, Portugal

2016-11-11 11:21:52 UTC

Both eTwinning projects seem to motivate for collaborative work and I agree with the benefits pointed out by António. All the challenges mentioned by this teacher are experienced by me: changing roles; group dynamics, assessment and management and the preparation and application of assessment tools. I'm now starting to use collaborative digital tools with students, so I'm taking my 1st steps.

María Napal, Spain

mnapalf — 2016-11-11 12:21:00 UTC

As for the last questions for reflection:

María Napal, Spain

mnapalf — 2016-11-11 12:21:01 UTC

As for the last questions for reflection:
Should the assessment be based on the product or on the collaboration?
I would like to answer that both, or more on collaboration. The reality is, although teachers and decision makers are more and more convinced of the convenience of teaching- learning to collaborate, and even though 21st century skills (collaboration, learning to learn...) are more valued than knowledge by employers, the curriculum and the standardized evaluations are still focused on contents (competencies, if you wish).
Just for the debate: wouldn't it be a bit irresponsible to deviate the attention from the product and the gains in "disciplinar" knowledge, which is what the students are going to be graded on?

Rosella, Italy

rosella_manni — 2016-11-11 14:53:07 UTC

Assessment can:

offer a larger view of student needs and accomplishments
provide information about the knowledge and skills students have as they enter a course
provide reliable data on student learning
make available richer data about the effects of the curriculum or teaching methods

Dhurata ,Albania

2016-11-11 15:32:54 UTC

MargaridaSousa P.T.

2016-11-11 15:33:07 UTC

I agree with the seven benefits described by António as well as the challenges he mentioned.
I have to face another challenge: low level of computer experience, as well as few informatic equipment at school, traditional space in our classrooms.
I like the changing of roles: students become my teachers everytime I use a digital tool. I ´ve learned a lot from this collaboration.
However, the interdisciplinarity teaching is very present in our school. We have a Class Plan work where we have to establish projects including collaborative work between two or more subjects. I ´m used to work with Science Teachers, History teachers, Music Teachers, because as I teach Portuguese it is very easy to articulate and promote group work between us.

Olga Oliveira, Portugal

olga_amaro — 2016-11-11 17:29:09 UTC

I think the project described by Antonio was very interesting from the student collaboration point of view as well as the teacher collaboration point of view and yes, I agree with the seven benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning.
I think that the challenges are all the same, all over the world and the tips Antonio gave are very useful and important to the sucess of the project.
I also use digital tools (for instance, Socrative), sometimes I reorganise the classroom and I share my experience with my colleagues, sharing our classrooms.

Clara, Portugla

acjesus — 2016-11-11 17:32:09 UTC

I like to participate in eTwinning projects a lot, and as Antonio says, these projects provided great opportunities for the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom, both for students and teachers. I also agree with the benefits and the challenges Antonio points out, and for me, the most challenging is definitely the time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the classroom, because most of the students aren´t used to collaborative work and have difficulties accepting the assessment of collaborative work as a reliable assessment. About the collaborative tools, I´m using it as far as I can/know with my new classes, and students are very motivated.

mbacita — 2016-11-11 17:42:40 UTC

I couldn't agree more with him on the benefits associated to assessing learning and on the challenges faced while organising this type of activity. I think that sometimes it's easier to work with colleague from across Europe that with colleagues from the same school.

Ana Fernades, Portugal

apmfm — 2016-11-11 19:10:09 UTC

The projects described by Antonio are innovative and very rich. They’ve allowed students to develop desired skills like creativity, autonomy, cooperation and interpersonal relations: Student - Student; Student -Teacher; Teacher - Teacher.

I totally agree with the seven benefits presented for collaborative learning assessment. The evaluation of the learning/teaching process centered in collaborative activities brings many challenges and I see myself on those who Antonio has referred. I point out the fifth (available time to prepare and apply the assessment) because on my scale I can’t resort to solutions like the frequent use of digital tools.

Concerning the reorganization of the classroom space and the interdisciplinarity and share between teachers, I concur that they are facilitating and desirable solutions of collaborative teaching.

Sabrina Petrillo, ITALY

spwillothewisp9 — 2016-11-11 19:17:45 UTC

Both Antonio’s suggestions about the 7 advantages associated to assessing collaborative learning and the challenges are the same we teachers are to face when planning and implementing the above mentioned experience: I would add the problem to assess disabled pupils’ contributions to the team work, which often requires the reorganization of the competences, abilities and skills assessment grids.

As for the use of collaborative digital tools I must say that watching Antonio’s video strenghtened my awareness that they are very useful: as an example, for a project on ‘Global Warming’, my students could present facts by putting carbon footprints of our country with related pictures and graphs on TeamUp while foreign students could post comments.
The different amount of collaboration amongst teachers in my school would require a similar approach through which all of us might collaborate in discussing questions and sharing materials.

Petra, USA

drpe — 2016-11-11 19:21:21 UTC

During the Skype/Kahoot project, a low level collaborative activity, there is probably interest and high engagement on the side of the students; the project can be implemented without any major complications on the side of the teachers (provided the technology is available). The SMART project is a higher-level collaboration activity. It requires more organization on the side of the teachers, but also gives students more responsibility regarding their learning.

I do agree with the list of benefits and challenges Antonio mentioned in his presentation. Finding time to prepare and properly implement a collaborative task is probably my biggest challenge, followed by having to work on changing the mindset of students and colleagues who are not used to this kind of work. I use collaborative digital tools whenever possible, but my school is not a 1:1 school and only provides a few devices shared by all faculty members, so the use of digital tools is limited. Unreliable connectivity is also an issue. I am hoping to see this situation improve sooner rather than later. I would LOVE to reorganize my classroom space, as the current model does not suit collaborative learning. However, since I am sharing my classroom with teachers who are not yet convinced that reorganization is necessary, change is impossible at the moment. I think that interdisciplinary teaching is beneficial to all parties involved, but not all teachers are willing to attempt a new project. Sharing of materials works well when there is a true bilateral or multilateral exchange. When materials only come from one side, it defeats the purpose and becomes less interesting.

José María Díaz, Spain

josemaria_diazfuentes — 2016-11-11 21:08:10 UTC

Magnificent presentation and message Antonio. I take note of it all. Thank you very much!

Jole, Sicily

jolecapo — 2016-11-12 07:10:42 UTC

I found it very interesting experiences of my colleague and I will try to share with my colleagues.

Nicola S. - Italy

spotonicola — 2016-11-12 09:54:59 UTC

From a learner's point of view the activities described by Antonio are very engaging, because students can participate to the lesson in a less passive way than it usually happens. From a teacher's point of view collaborative learning activities can be very demanding as regards the efforts to implement them and the time spent in preparing materials. But in the last few months I find it very frustrating to see my students pretending to take notes during a lecture and not been really interested and/or involved in the topic of the lesson. So in my opinion the best benefit in collaborative learning is that it is a student-centred process where teacher takes a backward step.

It is not easy to enhance in Italian teachers a collaborative attitude towards their work. But it should be compulsory to study a topic in an interdisciplinary way because in the real word when you face a problem you try to solve it using different approaches and different means.

For me as a teacher it's very difficult to cope with groups' dynamics: I am not a psychologist and I am not trained to this kind of activities. But in order to make the students to stay on track and to focus on what the main goal of their work is, it is fundamental to give them clear instructions about how they can plan the activity and how they will be assessed during the learning process, especially if they aren't used to the collaborative learning approach.

In a collaborative learning activity, evaluation can be very demanding and can request a great amount of time if the teacher doesn't involve in it his students. Students should be asked to give a report of what they did at the end of every learning session. They should be given the possibility of been assessed by peers through grids and easy check lists, too. On-line tools (kahoot, Rubistar, google form, etc) could help. I have to say that for me, as an Italian teacher, it is not familiar the idea that students can assess themeselves and their peers, but it's important to implement this approach in my classes.

Elena FP, Italy

2016-11-12 10:02:57 UTC

I am very interested in the use of digital tools for interdisciplinary learning. In my school we use Google Classroom, but for some projects we also use Facebook closed groups, collaborative emagazines, eTwinning... Antonio points out some very interesting suggestions to enhance the assessment of this activities, which is usually focused on the final product and not on the learning process.

Annamaria Egido, Italy

2016-11-12 10:59:55 UTC

I think the projects described by Antonio are innovative and very interesting from the student collaboration point of view as well as the the teacher collaboration point of view.

Ljiljana LD, Croatia

2016-11-12 13:43:40 UTC

Very interesting and useful. I'll share it and discuss with my colleagues.

Zeljka Korlevic, Croatia

mravak57 — 2016-11-12 15:15:14 UTC

Interesting and challenging. The time needed to prepare and implement collaborative work is a very important issue.

3.5 An ICT teacher’s experience of assessing students’ collaborative learning What do you think about the projects described by Antonio, from the student collaboration point of view, as well as the teacher collaboration point of view? Do you agree with the 7 benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning? What about the challenges he mentions concerning group dynamics, team management and the time needed to prepare and implement assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom – are these challenges you also face? Antonio mentions the use of collaborative digital tools, reorganizing the classroom space and introducing more interdisciplinary teaching and the sharing of materials amongst teachers as useful tips. Do you agree and what are your experiences of these suggestions? Given that colab activities are mostly interesting and often enquiry based activities, it is thus secured that there is students motivation and engagement. If I set a task in which the students necessarily learn by doing something, the task of assessments necessarily changes; I do not have to verify if they have learned something, as the activity implies this, what I am more interested in is how they learned, how they made sense of possible trial and error experiments and what their reflection on the set tasks is.If the final outcome if the learning activity is a product, the product speaks itself, is proof of student achievement. Digital tools certainly help as their built in analysis (scores, reports etc) make it easy for the teacher to evaluate. What is more, if there is a competitive element in tasks, as i.e. in Kahoot or quizizz quizzes, then students are eager to win and work on the items for the pleasure of winning, the side effect is that they also learn something while having fun.

stuhlpfarrer2 — 2016-11-12 15:25:22 UTC

Marco Martinelli, Rome, Italy

radagast1974 — 2016-11-12 15:34:40 UTC

For the last of the questions in the video, I believe that it is more important to focus on the process, since we are trying to assess the ability of students to collaborate. The process gives us evidence that they are learning to do it.
I think the challenge is to find a way to make each student responsible for his/her learning and for the group task. Such a responsibility is part of an "ethos" that can be facilitated and developed but not necessarily arise in one lesson or through the use of one strategy.

Cristina/Pisa

2016-11-12 16:49:06 UTC

I agree with Antonio and the 7 benefits associated to assessing collaborative learning. The challenges he mentions are real and have to be faced by all teachers if they want to use this method. Surely, the use of digital tools can be helpful as well the sharing of material between students and teachers.

Merle, Estonia

merle_pahn — 2016-11-12 19:16:46 UTC

I agree with Antonio and heś challenges are familiar to me too. To prepeare a group work takes time and recourses but students like collobariteve learning

Cristina Rocha - Portugal

mcrisroch1 — 2016-11-12 19:31:28 UTC

From a student collaboration's point of vue, I believe it must have been a good challenge, because António prepared or constructed the activity with all the tools to allow pupils to assess and solve in a very autonomous way. The fact that this activities allow the promotion of the development of several skills in our students such as more responsability and self reflexion on their work and involvement.

For the teacher, as it is said, web tools allow teachers to gain time and get several type of assessments. It also provides an effeciantly observation of the students groups, and delievers feedback in realtime. I agree with António when he says that the reorganization of the classroom space is a must in colaboration classrooms. I can see that everytime when I work in the libraryschool, where we have different spaces. Children already interiorized the better space to read, study, play, or chat, they share the space and the activities in a very easy way. I am sure that the old fashion organization is going to be transformed. The younger students, like in preschool are already doing so for ages... This video was very completeof information about how to prepare a colaborative classroom activity.

It's also said that the articulation between teachers from diferent disciplines, the sharing of materials, and these are very important informations because with the interdisciplinarity we can manage a wider formation of our students.

Arminda Pereira, Portugal

armindapereira1 — 2016-11-12 19:53:26 UTC

The etwinning portal is a space where teachers can communicate, collaborate, develop projects, share and exchange experiences with other European educational agents through tools and applications in the area of information and communication technologies. It provides them with a secure online environment, ideas for projects, advice and support for working with peers and their students across Europe. It also gives them the opportunity to share their teaching resources and highlight their best practices.

The projects described by Antonio are innovative and very rich. They’ve allowed students to develop many skills like creativity, communication skills, collaboration, digital skills, critical thinking and personal and social responsibility.

I agree with António research shows that educational experiences that are active, social, contextual, engaging, and student-owned lead to deeper learning. The benefits of collaborative learning include:

- Development of higher-level thinking, oral communication, self-management, and leadership skills.

- Promotion of student-faculty interaction.

- Increase in student retention, self-esteem, and responsibility.

- Exposure to and an increase in understanding of diverse perspectives.

- Preparation for real life social and employment situations.

Some strategies to help ensure productive group dynamics are:

- Provide opportunities for students to develop rapport and group cohesion through icebreakers, team-building, and reflection exercises.

- Give students time to create a group work plan allowing them to plan for deadlines, and divvy up responsibilities.

- Have students establish ground rules. Students can create a contract for each member to sign; this contract can include agreed-upon penalties for those who fail to fulfill obligations.

- Assign roles to members of each group and change the roles periodically. For example, one student can be the coordinator, another the note-taker, another the summarizer, and another the planner of next steps.

- Allow students to rate each other’s quality and quantity of contributions. Use these evaluations when giving individual grades, but do not let it weigh heavily on a students’ final grade. Communicate clearly how peer assessment will influence grades.

- Check in with groups intermittently, but encourage students to handle their own issues before coming to you for assistance.

The teacher need time to prepare and implement assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom. These are some challenges I also face in my classes.

The use of collaborative digital tools, reorganizing the classroom space and introducing more interdisciplinary teaching and the sharing of materials amongst teachers as useful tips. I use google dooc, padlet, mindmeister, prezi, ….

Emilia, Romania

Emilia_T22 — 2016-11-12 20:11:44 UTC

Etwinning projects are a good way that shows collaborative learning.Web 2.0 tools helps to facilitate cooperation and as the Portuguese teacher mentioned students are in the center of their learning process, they take responsibilities and they are motivated to develop projects learning socially.I agree with the challenges and the questions he has stated here.

Reneta Raicheva

renyraicheva — 2016-11-12 21:37:04 UTC

Great experience, nice benefits. Thanks for sharing the good practice! :)

Paola Arduini, Italy

2016-11-12 21:47:32 UTC

Very interesting project material. I agree that Twinning projects can change the whole perspective of teaching. Very useful reflections on classroom spaces

Helena Louzeiro, Portugal

2016-11-12 21:54:46 UTC

The use of web tools 2.0 is very interesting.
The avaluation that the students have to do will help themto learn better.
António tips are very useful.

Enrica Maragliano - Italy

EMGe — 2016-11-12 23:53:19 UTC

I think actually Antonio is describing two different steps of his process towards a better assessment of the group work. The first rubric is quite poor and uses only a few descriptors, while the second year his experience takes him to evaluate more precisely the dynamics inside the groups. Of course all this is not easy and not granted. Teachers must try and error to learn and you can use somebody else's experience as an example, but really you have to find your personal path inside this road. An all the classes ar not the same, so, what is good for a class might not be good for another one.

I have seen Team-Up in many MOOCs but I never used it in a real project... I think it it time to begin to use it... It might be really helpful if we want to move towards a more accurate evaluation of students while they are involved in an eTwinning project. Now probably the time is ready to change and start using the ICT tools both in the classroom (BYOD) and at home.

Maria Laura, Italy

mammolimlaura — 2016-11-13 07:33:46 UTC

This is a very useful video. I thinlk that ICT tools give more possibility for teachers to assess and involve students in the assessing process.
Antonio poses the same difficulties found by the previous teacher : how to assess individual performance vs group performamce, because this is what the school ask us.
My school asks for rubrics which have to be shared by all teachers in every department.

Giovanna Wiplinger Croce

giovywip — 2016-11-13 09:36:02 UTC

Thanks a lot for the useful video. Process and outcomes are equally important but according to the age and abilities of the students it is up to the teachers, in my own opinion, to give more importance to the first rather than to the second. As long as all the students work in a collaborative way within the group, we may even give credit to the group who has achieved less compared to the other. The focus and the strength of the group work is the collaborative contribution of each member to group itself.

Betina Astride, PT

betinaastride — 2016-11-13 09:54:35 UTC

Thank a lot, António! It's great to have a Portuguese example here :) Congratulations.

Majella, Ireland

dempseybrian099 — 2016-11-13 11:06:26 UTC

I agree with Antonio. I think we need to build collaborative learning skills. We can assess skills and attitudes in some cases when we are building theses skills with the students and not focus on the knowledge. Then in some collaborative learning activities we might put greater emphasis not he knowledge. I think we cannot underestimate the power of technology to aid collaboration. We tend to learn in a very private way, in our collaborative learning group when we build trust we then can learn in a semi private way. We can get peer feedback from our group. When we share this learning in public in a padlet or on a platform we now make our learning public and we learn from peer's feedback and from seeing peer's work. This is also true for teachers in planning for teaching, learning and assessment.

Daniel Caridade, PT

dcaridade — 2016-11-13 11:33:27 UTC

I'm marvelled by this experience. Didn't know about etwinning (already enroled in the project) and found some of the tools showned very useful (I'm exploring TeamUP right now). I would love to know more about the work process developed within each group to better understand the dynamics between students and their own contributions towards the final product. I agree with the benefits presented by Antonio, and I think it's crucial to let the students know, right from the start, exactly how they'll be assessed and what tools used to do it (self, peer, group and/or individual). I also asked the question about what should be the main focus of the assessment done, the process or the product - I think we should assess first the process until the students fully understand the work flow and the rules applied, only then should we turn the focus on the final product. It's my understanding that the product will be better when the collaborative process is at its best. In Portugal, managing time is a big problem, since the curriculums are very extensive leaving little time for these kinds of projects. There is a current effort, by our Education Ministery, to review the extension of the courses programs, hopefully allowing time for more and better interactions inside the classes. As an alternative, interdisciplinary work could be a helpful solution, but we would need more availability amongst our peers and formation to allow this possibility to happen more frequently.

Alessandra M., Italy

prof_alemurgia — 2016-11-13 11:40:23 UTC

I definitely and totally agree with the 7 benefits illustrated by Antonio.
Reorganizing the classroom space is in my school a lost battle. We tried once, but the classrooms are too small for the number of our students.

Concetta Drago, Italy

concetta_drago — 2016-11-13 11:45:06 UTC

I agree with Antonio about the 7 benefits to assessing collaborative learning. I also use the web 2.0 application kahoot for formative assessment.

Lívia, PT

liviasor — 2016-11-13 12:55:20 UTC

I believe António has a working environment (school, classrooms, colleagues, etc.) different from many teachers participating in this course. In the room where I teach more I can't move tables and chairs...I agree with most of what he said. He is organized, he uses interesting tools and strategies. I'm going to use TeamUp for sure! We need to organize ourselves as collaborative teachers first and then we'll be better working and assessing collaboratively and collaborative learning. I want to become experienced in doing that. His tips helped. To use Web 2.0 tools we need to share, post, comment...that's the world as we know it today. Lastly, I think both process and product are important - but the road can lead you to different destinations. I would focus more on the road...I'm sure students wouldn't then get lost!

Cinzia Billa, Italy

2016-11-13 13:19:00 UTC

I appreciated a lot! Just two considerations:
1. the 7 benefits are not equal, namely on the same level. I do think that self-reflection and argumentation are fundamental (n.4) and
2.reorganizing classroom setting is very very important!!! Students must have space, look to each other, exchange materials and phisically share and recognise themselves part of a team!

Anabela Gomes.

prof_anabelagomes — 2016-11-13 13:25:51 UTC

I agree with all your point of view, as long we achieve to promote that kind of interaction between students: by being persistent with our goal and in some cases promote a change of mentality about our role as a teacher.

Raul Coutinho

2016-11-13 14:55:02 UTC

In this respect, Antonio is defining the project with consistency. However, I can not apply these tools because I do not have an internet capable of giving answers to all projects, and I have ninety minutes a week making it impossible to apply all these tools.

Richard, Belgium

2016-11-13 14:59:24 UTC

I enjoyed the projects shared. It is important that we prepare the children for the jobs of the future, so having them engage in Investigative collaborative learning activities is a key part of this. I think there is great value in using a wide mix of teaching and learning approaches but I am engaged in using collaborative learning more and more these days. He asks a key question as to which part of the process you asses: the process or the product. In short, I think assessing both has value. When sharing the assessment/success criteria rubric with the students there,should be elements of assessment(peer, self and teacher) for both.

The teacher needs to be careful however of not making the assessment so broad that it becomes unclear as to what is being assessed.

Thanks for your contribution to the course as, with each week, I am more inspired to do more!

Antónia Brandão e José Ruão, PT

dolores_brandao — 2016-11-13 15:43:33 UTC

It's a great job and Antonio did i nteresting projects involving students in the tasks and also in their assessment. Students should appreciate a lot the work that they did. But we can anticipate some issues concerning time. Planification and implementation of these kind of work takes time...lots of time. Most of the teachers aren't able to spend so much time, but, if we practise, we spend less time on planification and all becomes more easy.Tips that Antonio gives are good tips, we reorganize classroom space almost everyclasses and, children help on that task. It's nice to see them arriving class and starting to change the place of chairs and tables...if they are used they do it with good will.

We try also to introduce digital tools and we believe in sharing material. But we need also to increase teachers digital skills. That’s why courses like this one are very useful and important.

Orsola , Italia

2016-11-13 15:54:59 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits to assessing collaborative learning. I participate on the etwinning learning event. I think that this project is very important tool for implementing collaboration.

Tina M_Macedonia Greece

tinamellos — 2016-11-13 15:58:29 UTC

I totally agree with the seven benefits being clearly illustrated as far as assessing collaborative learning activities are concerned.
Well done Antonio! Thank alot! Great job! I will communicate it to my colleagues at school and I'm sure a fruitful and very productive outcome will spring out among us from our discussions!

Conceição Varela / Portugal

conceicao_varela — 2016-11-13 16:14:57 UTC

I agree with Antonio that collaborative projects are the right way for students to develop the so-called 21st century skills, which are clearly specified in the 7 benefits Antonio describes associated to the collaborative work developed by this students during the projects. Concerning the challenges that Antonio describes, I also agree, since they are common to all teaching activities in particular to the collaborative ones, due to the requirement of engagement and receptivity by the students and to the need to manage the teams and their dynamics in an efficient and constructive way. However, the time it takes to prepare and implement collaborative activities for our students and focused on our students is something that needs to be taken into account when a school decides to embrace this new way of teaching/learning, especially if interdisciplinary activities are to be planned and carried out. This requires a substantial degree of commonality between the schedules of the intervening teachers, which is something very difficult to achieve. In the context of collaborative work, it is clear that the use of digital tools is a must since these tools make it much easier for the teacher to plan the activities and to follow the progress of students along the activity as well as for the students to record and publish their work/assessments.

Eduardo Pinheiro, Portugal

eduardojgpinheiro — 2016-11-13 17:01:17 UTC

I agree with António about the project. I know kahoot and I use identical questionnaire and gridlines with my students when they work in groups. I have not participate in projects "etwinning" until yet.

Cristina Teixeira, Portugal

2016-11-13 17:05:46 UTC

The projects described by Antonio are great and I agree with the 7 benefits that are associated with collaborative learning, such as:

- It is a student-centered process;

- Promotes students Involvement in the assessment tasks;

- Promotes student's responsibility and motivation towards the learning process;
- Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation;
- Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences.
Concerning the challenges that Antonio describes, there are two that I often experience in my classes:

- Management of teams / groups of students so everyone participates and

collaborates in the activities
- Time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the class.
I also consider that digital tools can be very useful.

Odete Pinho

modetepinho — 2016-11-13 17:08:44 UTC

I think that Antonio`s project is a quite groundbreaking .I agree with the 7 benefits associated to assessing collaborative learning. To make a collaborative learning is essential the teachers to reorganize the classroom space, to use collaborative digital tools and Interdisciplinary teaching.

Patrizia Italy

2016-11-13 18:22:43 UTC

I found the video really stimulating especially because of he gave us a list of questions on which it is necessary to reflect on while engaging in an assessing collaborative learning

Alena Jandlová, Czech Republic

2016-11-13 18:26:35 UTC

The project assessment introduced by Antonio is another inspiration and good practice for me. I agree that re-setting the classroom layout can enhance collaboration, a simple rubric makes assessment easier. I think we can assess both the process and the product of a collaboration activity as soon as we include in the rubric. As I see it, when assessing a group and an individual, there should be 2 rubrics used for this, slightly different in their categories.

CÁTIA SANTOS - PORTUGAL

badkat187 — 2016-11-13 19:09:53 UTC

I agree with António's projets and opinions. I believe that collaborative learning can be applied in all disciplines and at all ages, as well as evaluation, but everything has to take into account age and curriculum. In the whole process, in my opinion, the most important is the process itself and the evolution along it. I also believe that information technology helps immensely throughout this process.

Catarina Rodrigues, Portugal

canrodrigues — 2016-11-13 20:14:18 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning and with the challenges he faced. However our schools are not prepared to use digital tools and teachers must learn how ti use it.
In what concerns etwinning experiences I have no experience.This year I hope to participate, for the first time, in a Christmas Activity suggested by an etwinner (if I can call her this way). Collaborative teaching and learning is taking the first steps in my school.

Sara Viotti, Italy

sara_viotti — 2016-11-13 21:19:43 UTC

The first thing I would underline is that no collaborative learning is possible, if the learning enviroments keep beeing traditional classrooms. Antonio highlights that digital tools are useful, in other words necessary, to enable the students move across the Augmented reality. I have also two previous experiences od eTwinning projects, but when we started them, my only collaborative learning idea was about task based didactics of languages. Now I can agree with Antonio about introducing a cross curricular use of collaborative learning. If students use to learn in a transmissive way a certain subject, they will see difficult adapting theirselves to a new scenario!

Silvia Zorzi, Italy

2016-11-13 22:08:20 UTC

I totally agree with Antonio. Also in my opinion collaborative learning needs new tools to assess students' progress; time to prepare and implement assessment is important, with transmissive teaching the assessment is fast. New setting of classrooms is fundamental, but it 's not easy to do this!!
I think that if I ask to students to work in group, also teachers have to work in group in a interdisciplinary way and sharing materials each other ;))

Pedro Elias, Portugal

pedroelias — 2016-11-13 22:21:07 UTC

I completely agree with Antonio and with the 7 benefits he associates to assessing collaborative learning. I agree that using digital tools can help a lot in collaborative work, but it is necessary for all stakeholders to be able to use these tools well.

Teresa Rowett - Portugal

teresarowett — 2016-11-14 00:50:10 UTC

The 7 benefits are very rightly associated to assessing collaborative learning. The group dynamics, team management and the needed time to prepare and implement the assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom are in fact challenges we all face when engaging in such a learning scenario. Reorganizing the classroom takes precious time we sometimes cannot afford to lose. Ideally the classroom should be in such a way we wouldn’t need to constantly change it. But that’s only possible when each class has its classroom and that’s not how schools are usually organised in Portugal. Interdisciplinary teaching is a very valuable tip, and collaborative work among teachers also. Teachers promote it among students but seldom work that way themselves.

Sandra, Portugal

sandra_alves_ — 2016-11-14 09:29:42 UTC

I think Antonio's project very interesting and I agree with the benefits that have been assigned to the assessment of collaborative learning.
The different tools presented, like Lino, Padlet, Kahoot, Teamup and others are really important for these collaborative projects, but they need time to assimilate the change.
I think the biggest challenge in the assessment of collaborative learning is the group dynamic: students must have a positive and receptive attitude towards their involvement in the assessment.
I fully agree with the solutions proposed by António to solve the major challenges of assessment collaborative learning.

Katarzyna Kwiatek-Grabarska, Poland

2016-11-14 12:41:59 UTC

I believe that the final evaluation should occur on the completion of the project, but it will happen, before, a teacher - an observer in this case should scrupulously observe student work on assignments and show them the right OR Better molds and Methods Solutions. Then, through observation should refer to the effects do - if it was a tip, directing - to WHAT IS THE EFFECT, which stems from it. Then we can judge, because we know how much a student has used our help and education, which received. Njtrudniejsze remains, however, to assess case by case basis within the Group. I think you can ask students to self-esteem and verify thus our observations.

Lúcia, Portugal

2016-11-14 13:40:09 UTC

Our colleague clearly points out the benefits associated to collaborative work. In fact, this type of work can and should be developed from an early age and in all subjects.

I believe that we still have a long way to go in order to develop collaborative projects and we need to start changing the way teachers collaborate in order to effectively implement this type of tasks in our classes and understand the benefits and potential of collaborative learning.

As for the challenges Antonio mentions, I would like to emphasize the changing of the role for teachers and students, as teachers need to learn to give more responsibility to students for their own learning and students need to take this increased responsibility and adjust to group work.

I will surely explore some of the digital tools mentioned as I am not familiar with all of them.

Mafalda Lapa, Portugal

lapa_mafalda — 2016-11-14 13:46:00 UTC

I really enjoyed this presentation. It summarises many aspects that I agree with. Personally, I have two aspects that concern me a lot. One, the redesign of our classroom space. Sometimes the classes are so small in space and so big in number of students that difficults the rearangment of the class for group work. Other problem I see is that our schools (at least in Portugal) are very obcessed with the final exams and, therefore, we spend to litle time preparing students with the competences they need for real life, and too much time preparing for the exams.

Ana Elisabete Teixeira, Vila Nova de Cerveira - Portugal

anasaojoaoteixeira — 2016-11-14 16:45:17 UTC

I agree with Antonino's 7 benefits associated with the assessment of collaborative learning and the challenges it faced. However, I still do not have much knowledge about some digital tools to apply with my students.

Google Tradution

Isabel Costa - Portugal

costaisabel60 — 2016-11-14 17:28:50 UTC

I think the difficulty is to have space and time to do it... Of course the 7 benefits that Antonio presents are important but we have to understand that most teachers don´t have digital skills so for them it will be a little bit more difficult to sharing materials or use new digital tools. In my school I am trying to change the way teachers see the new collaboration tolls, for example, I send them collaborative documents for them to fill and I give them instructions how to do it.

António Gonçalves, PT

2016-11-14 17:32:07 UTC

I agree with the benefits and challenges highlighted by António Lopes.
I also consider that the use of digital tools are important as facilitating tools in collaboration and evaluation of collaborative learning.

Lina Mosca Italy

2016-11-14 17:32:38 UTC

Lucrezia Di Molfetta Italy

edimol — 2016-11-14 17:37:18 UTC

I agree with what António outlines in the video. I believe that information technology helps effectively the assessment process.

Ana Schade, Portugal

ana_vaz — 2016-11-14 17:38:11 UTC

I agree with the relevance of the seven benefits and challenges highlighted by the speaker.
More interdisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials among teachers also facilitate collaborative teaching.
Digital tools can be used to support teacher planning activities.

Rossella, Italy

2016-11-14 18:23:53 UTC

I consider the proposal of Antonio, is very good but needs digital skills, technology and spaces suitable instruments, which often lacking in our schools.

Dulce Freire, Fernanda Cunha, Marco Fernandes and Vítor Silva, Portugal

marcocfernandes — 2016-11-15 11:31:59 UTC

Antonio's presentation is fantastic, it's a shame he does not teach at our school. We have much to learn. As we have already mentioned, we have never worked like this. Our opinion is given only on the basis of what we are learning and not from experience. The benefits referred to by it make perfect sense with regard to collaborative work. Regarding challenges we also face them we agree with António are also challenges for us even though our work is not collaborative. It seems to us that using digital tools is a prized advantage in the evaluative process. 0.0,��5��

Antonia, Netherlands

chanja — 2016-11-15 12:49:18 UTC

Thanks Antonio Lopes for sharing your experience on collaborative learning assessment and the mentioning of TeamUp. I am still learning to use digital tools and am always happy to read about programmes that seem to work. Getting around to actually use them is, timewise, an ongoingbattle for me.
I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio mentions. However, setting up the first project complete with rubrics and assessment criteria involves a lot of work, especially when you work in an environment where collaborative learning is new and where colleagues are not always open-minded and supportive about new developments.
Reading that it is possible gives me new energy to try again.

Isabel Rato, Portugal

2016-11-15 13:56:29 UTC

The questions of the self-assessment test suggested by the colleague seem to me too vague to be carried out by the students ("autonomy", "cooperation"). The articulation between individual and group evaluation and focus on the process are problems to solve...

Marta Pereira

mpereira89_1 — 2016-11-15 18:50:04 UTC

I think the projects are interesting, as well the way he work and assess them. The fact that each student makes his portfolio solves some assessment's problems of the student's individual contribution in the project. However, carrying out the group project and still creating an individual portfolio requires much more time for a project... The online collaborative tools are a great help in the collaborative work between students and also between teachers. I will consider using more online collaborative tools in the projects that i do with my students.

Olga Tsaruk, Ukraine

ovotsaruk — 2016-11-15 20:43:47 UTC

I have the first active project in the Tweenspace.
Actually thanks to it I found out about this course. I'm impressed how many possibilities teachers have to work creativily. Of course these things need much time on every level including the assessment. Digital tools are interesting for students and we must benefit from it.

Teresa Pombo, Potugal

teresapombo — 2016-11-15 21:49:12 UTC

Antonio shared some interesting ideas and projects. The idea of having students self-assessing their own collaboration is important because it gives them the conscience of whats really inportant in order to achieve both individual as group goals.

Graça Carvalho - Portugal

graca_carvalho — 2016-11-16 01:05:31 UTC

I think that 7 benefits are very important of collaborative learning assessment:

1 – It is a student-centered process

2 - Promotes students involvement in the assessment tasks

3 – Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process

4 – Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation

5 - Students can learn socially from each other

6 – Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications

7 – Promotes development of 21st century skills and competences.
For this teacher the main challenges of collaborative learning are:
1 - Changing role of the teacher/students in the classroom.
2 - Group dynamics: students must have a positive attitude and receptivity towards their involvement in the assessment
3 - Group assessment versus individual assessment
4 - Management of teams/groups of students so that everyone participates and collaborates in the activities
5 - Time available to prepare and apply assessment of collaboration in the classroom

Thomas, Austria

2016-11-16 08:39:40 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits described by Antonio.
I like the web 2.0 tools he used in the different scenarios which showed that he simply didn't use the tools for the tools' sake but he used the tools as a means of communication, collaboration etc.

Emília Silva - Portugal

emiliasilva2 — 2016-11-16 10:41:42 UTC

I agree with the 7 benefits described in the video by António. I participated in the Itec project and my students where at the center of project. The students developed autonomy, responsability, communication and argumentation. Very important regular communication and the digital tools can be use to support teach planning.

Ângela and Tânia, Portugal

taniaalves23 — 2016-11-16 19:54:36 UTC

The projects discussed by Antonio are focused on the student's autonomous work, being part of his process. In relation to the seven benefits, we find it quite positive because they are important tools to evaluate collaborative learning and are enriching in student learning.
It is important to know how to manage groups, time and implement digital tools. This requires reorganizing classroom space and disciplines so that learning is more interdisciplinary and shared.

Helene Stavropoulou, Greece

elenistavro7 — 2016-11-16 21:38:18 UTC

I really appreciated the checklist with the creativite rubrics, autonomy and so on. Presenting these items from the beginning of the project is a very good idea and I will apply it now.

The presentation of the advantages and the challenges is very complete and it helps us to identify the problems.

I absolutely agree with his proposals, especially with regard to numerical tools and interdisciplinary teaching. In the last few years, a pedagogical team has been formed with my colleagues from other disciplines in various projects, and our work is characterized by an added value

Katarina,Serbia

2016-11-16 23:21:50 UTC

I agree with Antonio`s 7 benefits.
And digital tools can be used to support teacher planning activities

Maria Concetta Catalano, Italy

cettinacatalano644 — 2016-11-17 01:10:54 UTC

eTwinning projects, and then collaborative learning, give to school real opportunities to innovate for organisations teachers and learners, then I think that they can be applied to all disciplines and classes.

Carla Mansilha - Portugal

cmansilha — 2016-11-17 08:01:03 UTC

Great example from Portugal: congratulations António Lopes. I particularly like your solutions:
1 - Assessing collaborative learning requires regular communication between peers and peers and teachers.
2 - Digital tools can be used to support teacher’s planning activities. The use of collaborative digital tools enables teachers to efficiently observe student groups and deliver feedback. Digital tools can also support students to publish and share their assessments.
3 - Reorganizing the classroom space can introduce more collaboration-friendly dynamics in the classroom.
4 - More interdisciplinary teaching and sharing of materials amongst teachers also facilitates collaborative teaching.
Thanks!

Vitor M. N. Fernandes, Portugal

vmnf — 2016-11-17 12:16:54 UTC

(Finally I was able to post on a course padlet ;-) ! My learning diary: https://padlet.com/vmnf/t15kcywjqs93 )
eTwinning is a great platform to develop international projects with other teachers and setup a collaborative workspace for their students. I've been engaged on a teachers training course so other teachers will become eTwinners. So we can consider that in Portugal there is investment, by public ministry, towards motivating teachers to engage in eTwinning projects.
Yes, I agree. They can easily be used as a reference.
Collaborative work poses a lot of challenges. One I am most confronted is not having a classroom big enough to create multi-purpose spaces on it. I will keep struggling so I can achieve this since I think this would increase student motivation also. Also the use of flexible floor planning maybe with other kind of tables that would allow students to be more face-to-face.
The one I mostly agree is the organizing the classroom space. This imposes challenged when you have other teachers also teaching on same room but keep using traditional ways of teaching. Also interdisciplinary teaching cannot be easily achieved due to lack of teachers schedule control. This would be easier if teachers working together could have time on their schedules to be together and plan such activities.

Domenica Marino, Italy

marinomimma16 — 2016-11-17 17:51:30 UTC

The eTwinning projects presented by Antonio João Lopes are very interesting for the issues proposed for the activities carried out and for the use of computer tools that make them very attractive and closer to the world of young people. I agree with the 7 benefits that the professor associates with the assessment of a collaborative learning and I agree on the main challenges to be faced in such a learning scenary.
I fully agree with the solutions proposed by the teacher to solve the great challenges in the evaluation of a collaborative learning. Iunderline, unfortunately, the fact that the reorganization of the class in a more functional way to cooperative work is often problematic, due to factors relating to small time available for the performance of activities and the lack of a school furniture suitable to undergo the processing necessary for the creation of an appropriate work context. In addition, I highlight that interdisciplinarity is crucial in the organization of cooperative work.

With regard to the questions for the final reflection, here are my answers:

1 - In situations of collaborative learning, student achievements should be assessed in a different way than the traditional .

2 -The way by which we assess collaborative learning should not be independent from the curriculum, it should be appropriate to the age of student and applied to all disciplines and classes.

3 - In a collaborative learning environment, we could give to the individual assessment a lower weight than the group evaluation.

4 - In collaborative learning environments I would give greater importance to the process rather than the final product.

Giovanna, Italy

giovanna_biceg1 — 2016-11-17 19:11:17 UTC

I absolutely agree with Antonio! These 7 benefits are the reasons I started collaborative teaching two years ago. I extended my experience to my colleague who now is doing the same with her subjects. Collaboration is essential among students but also among teachers!

Maria Rizza/ Sicily

rowri — 2016-11-17 22:37:52 UTC

I think thatAntonio was lucky because he had a good opportunity to work within E-Twinning; indeed, when you are involved in this kind of project there several advantages which usually are not possible in one’s school for example he coud work in collaboration with colleagues in a multidisciplianry way which qualifies the students learning experience. It was a good idea to provide students with the rubrics and checklists before the implementation of the project. Indeed, this is a good start as the students become aware of what they are going to experience ; the students get more involved when they are given information and criteria in advance. I agree with the seven benefits listed by Antonio for the assessment of collaborative learning; as for the challenges he mentions of course, I have to face with the same matters; in particular time management is the most difficult for me because it is so short in the class and there are so many tasks to carry out for a teacher that you may risk not to have enough time to carry out all these activities;It is true that Digital tools help both teachers and students to implement the work as the students and teachers can be active and interactive even beyond the class, but this is feasable only when everyone at home has the connection to work on line. At least according to my experience, it happens that some students have the opportunity to work at home by using the digital tools, but some others cannot work at home because they do not have the necessary equipment , i.e. a PC or laptop and internet. Therefore I have to carry out all the activities at school in order to avoid discrimmination among students ZZvssBjJyWXr�1P��

Paula Duarte, Portugal

2016-11-18 01:25:43 UTC

Antonio is to be congratulated for his work on projects. I agree with him. To achieve the seventh benefit: creativity (initiative, entrepreneurship), communication skills (traditional and digital), collaboration (collaborative work on platforms / digital), digital skills (selecting, accessing and managing resources Critical thinking (reasoning, analyzing, judging, arguing) and personal and social responsibility (self-knowledge, self-evaluation),
we need develop first of all, the collaborative learning:

It is a student centered process,
Promotes students involvement in the assessment tasks,
Promotes students responsibility and motivation towards the learning process,
Promotes self-reflection and students argumentation,
Students can learn socially from each other,
Promotes digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 applications.

Fatih TOY, Turkey

2016-11-18 16:41:26 UTC

To deal with each question one by one sequentially;
1. The projects mentioned by Antonio attract those teachers who would like to cooperate or collaborate among themselves but somehow not being able to carry out cooperation and collaboration. The mechanism held by the project organizers seems to remove the distance barriers in front of collaboration among both teacher groups and students groups.
2.I totally agree with 7 benefits stated by Antonio.
-Student centered process refers to individual performance and practices
-Student involvement refers to learner initiative or autonomy
-Responsibility and motivation stand for willingness for group collaboration
-Self-reflection refers to individual assessment
-Social learning is the very atmosphere of collaboration
-Digital literady is just keeping updated with global trends and requirements
-Century skills and competences refer to trendy demands of the whole community
2. I don't think the mentioned challenges make the projects deteriorated for the reason that Antonio has already brought some solutions using applications like teamup etc. As for my experiences, I do not face these challenges if i assign tasks require students using ICT tools which enable them not to need to meet onsite.

Natália Ferreira, Portugal

2016-11-18 19:40:06 UTC

I agree with Antonio about the seven benefits of collaborative learning. For me, the biggest challenge mentioned is the management of the time needed to prepare and implement the collaborative work and the implementation of its evaluation because I am a teacher of a discipline with a huge curriculum and external evaluation in the end. I believe that space reorganization can improve student interactions but the use of collaborative digital tools and the sharing of materials among teachers are much more important. In my practice I have already used some digital tools in my classes (Kahoot, Socrative, Padlet, Class Dojo and others), in the context of the ordinary classroom, laboratory and future classroom lab. Students get involved much more.

Cesare Maramici, Italy

2016-11-19 08:28:51 UTC

I agree with Antonio concerning the seventh benefits of collaborative learning:

The students will acquire more creativity, will improve their communication and collaborative skills,

and their critical thinking. They will assume, in this context, personal and social responsability. The web 2.0. environments are particulary apppropriate to facilitate collaboration and sharing and consequently the students, selecting, accessing and managing these resources, will improve digital skills.

susanna, italy

27luglio63 — 2016-11-19 08:51:15 UTC

3.5 An ICT teacher’s experience of assessing students’ collaborative learning
I agree with antonio, he have done a great work.

Laurentina Soares, Portugal

2016-11-19 12:24:39 UTC

I agree with António, in everything he said. It´s very important the use of digital tools in colaboartive work.
The etwining projects are great for collaborative work.
Great work from Portugal, thanks a lot.

Rui Vieira, Portugal

miguelvieira_com — 2016-11-19 16:17:11 UTC

The described projects seem to be very good. I believe there are many benefits in collaborative learning, such as:

- Students get more Involved in the tasks;

- Students are responsible and motivated in their learning process;
- Student-centered process;
- Self-reflection possibilioty for students;
- Development of skills and competences;
- Development of digital skills.

Carmela Cundari - Italy

melcunda — 2016-11-19 18:36:40 UTC

Collaboration between students is very important, but collaboration between teachers (although more difficult) is even more important. Etwinning gives the amazing opportunity to collaborate and my teaching practice has improved due to engagement and collaboration in eTwinning projects.
The seven benefits of collaborative learning are very important, but the one I find more important is "development of 21st century skills" specially: leadership, teamwork, collaboration and cooperation.
The challenge in my opinion is time management: cooperative learning requires more time.
About digital tools I cannot immagine collaborative learning without ICT

Evi Karella-Greece

spevispevi — 2016-11-19 22:11:23 UTC

Antonio's presentation is really great. I totally agree with the 7 bentfits he refers to assessing collaborative learning. The usage of collaborative digital tools is essential for students working together because they offer the opportunity to get involved in a meaningful way and help them to learn.

Maria Tomaz, Portugal

anjostomaz1 — 2016-11-19 22:25:21 UTC

Interdisciplinary teaching is a challenge, the dynamics created with digital resources are a good example of this presentation. I wish I had a good performance of TI, but one of the important factors in this collaborative learning is the interdependence of knowledge and skills. Congratulations António, I am deeply in agreement with the 7 benefits of collaborative learning.

Virgínia Esteves, Portugal

virginiaesteves — 2016-11-20 00:50:50 UTC

Great example António. Thanks for sharing!!!! The 7 collaborative assessment tips are great they cover all the 21st century skills: Learning Skills, Literacy Skills and Life Skills as a result of a collaborative work.
I also like the assessment sheet it is easy to fill in the classroom and has everything that is important to assess on a collaborative activity.

Nazaré Firmino, Portugal

nazare_firmino — 2016-11-20 12:28:16 UTC

In my opinion, the activities described by Antonio are fantastic and enriching for teachers and students. I fully agree with the seven benefits associated with collaborative learning and also face the challenges he mentions: group dynamics, which has several constraints, team management, which always poses some questions, and the time required to prepare and implement assessment of collaborative learning in the classroom. Time can be an embarrassment difficult to overcome and digital tools can greatly facilitate the work of teachers and students themselves, helping to overcome many constraints. I use Google Drive, Socrative and Padlet and found these facilities.

Ariana Vacaretu, Romania

ariana_vacaretu — 2016-11-20 13:52:36 UTC

I didn't really understand from the presentation what was the aim of students collaboration on the 2 projects on Augumented Reality. I fully agree that it is useful to develop assessment instruments prior to the implementation of the project. It would be useful to include in the presentation rubric examples (e.g. - what does it mean that student's creativity is of level 3?)
Related to the main challenges Antonio points out, I wouldn't consider group dynamics as main challenge in the assessment of collaborative work (but probably we don't have the same understanding of the 'group dynamics' concept).

Münevver, Turkey

2016-11-20 16:24:54 UTC

The projects mentioned by Antonio were great and as far as I can see, their students are really lucky to have such teachers working hard for them. From teacher collaboration, e-twinning projects are great if you do not have collaborative teachers in your own school. You also do not have to be a prisoner in your country, you can contact with teachers from different parts of Europe, which makes learning environment more creative and more energetic. I also agree with the 7 benefits Antonio attributes to collaborative learning in these kinds of e-Twinning projects, which are :
1. The learner-centered process
2. The students' involvement in the evaluation tasks
3. The students' responsibility and motivation in the learning process
4. The students' self-reflection and argumentation
5. The fact that students socially learn from each other
6. The digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 tools
7. The development of skills of the 21st century.

The challenges Antonio mentions are the same ones which we everyday face in our teaching process:
1. different group dynamics, since it requires of the students a positive attitude and receptivity to their involvement in the evaluation
2. the change of attitude and work dynamics
3. the most important of all, is the time available to prepare and apply collaborative assessment in the classroom .

Possible solutions can be: the good planning of the activities and the criteria of assessment, the positive classroom environment, the taking into account the students' interests and the creative use of web 2 tools. I totally agree with Antonio’s solutions mentioned in the video. However, in our school we do not have such a chance to work with our own colleagues collaboratively to find solutions for these problems. I am all alone, which makes me infertile in my teaching process. So, I try to do my best to make novelties in my teaching process and to be a good example for my colleagues. I believe that applying such kind of Projects in all school requires commonality between teachers. I also don’t have a chance to reorganize my classroom for collaborative learning environment because I am sharing my classroom with other teachers and also as teachers we do not have a budget to do so from our school managements, as it is a public school. As for interdisciplinary teaching, it is urgent and useful for all teachers who take part in learning process of the same class, but some teachers are from the old school and they are not open to new ideas. They also resist them, which makes me discouraged sometimes. In such an environment, I am fighting for my life Anyway, for the last idea about sharing of materials amongst teachers of course facilitates collaborative teaching and learning. Because if the students and teachers use the same rubrics for the same activity, it will save time for teachers. Also, it should be prepared according to the curriculum and applied to all classes and all disciplines. As a result, I am happy being here and learning with you :) THANKS A LOT

Manuela Ortigão, Portugal

mortigao — 2016-11-20 17:45:05 UTC

I really like Antonio's projects and the way he assessed student's collaboration. I agree with the 7 benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning. I experienced similar challenges in assessing collaborative learning, and my main problems in my classroom are related with: reorganizing the classroom space to introduce more collaboration-friendly dynamics in the classroom and sometimes the use of digital tools in classroom. It's easier to a ICT teacher implementing those digital tools because their are a lot of computers in classroom to be used. In my classes I only have one computer, so most of the time I have to do assessment using written questionnaires in paper or using team up as a task to be continued at home by students.

Harisa, Greece

terxara — 2016-11-20 19:58:34 UTC

I agrree with Antonio. Collaborative learning promotes student's involvement, responsibility, argumentation , digital literacy, 21st century skills, it is student center learning. web2.0 are necessary for the set up of a collaborative activity. A teacher's attempt to do collaborative learning with the traditional way without technology could end up to a disaster. lack of classroom management, incapability of assessing collaborative work could be some of the causes of the disaster.

Elisabete Gouveia, Portugal

2016-11-20 23:44:11 UTC

António's presentation is really great. I agree with the 7 benefits to assessing collaborative learning. Creativity, communication, collaborative skills and critical thinking will be acquire by the students. The change of attitude and work dynamics with digital resources are a challenge. Digital tools are interesting for students and the teacher's must benefit from it.

Isabel Cabo

isacabo_1978 — 2016-11-21 00:39:59 UTC

The 7 benefits Antonio associates to assessing collaborative learning in e-Twinning projects, which are :
1. The learner-centered process
2. The students' involvement in the evaluation tasks
3. The students' responsibility and motivation in the learning process
4. The students' self-reflection and argumentation
5. The fact that students socially learn from each other
6. The digital literacy through the use of digital web 2.0 tools
7. The development of skills of the 21st century.
I like very much Antonio presentation and I think collaborative tools are very useful to help students and teacher. In my case I have already used some digital tools in my classes, for example, Kahoot, Socrative, Padlet, Doodle, Prezi...

Cristina Abegão

2016-11-21 01:58:34 UTC

The 7 benefits are really great and I agree with those in order to assessing collaboartice learning. Work with digital resources will be a challenge and students can take the benefit.

Mafalda Basto, Portugal

2016-11-21 11:17:45 UTC

The projects presented by António are meaningful examples of collaborative work involving teachers and students. Them being projects developed in classes of a Multimedia Professionalizing Course, I think some of the constraints felt by the majority of teachers – time and obsession for the fulfillment of curricula content ministration, due to external assessment pressure – aren’t present in the same way. I think that, similar to what happens at my school, the classroom of these professionalizing classes has an arrangement that facilitates collaborative work; the students also possess, the majority of them, a higher level of digital competencies, as well as the appropriate technological means in the classroom.

The implementation of collaborative work poses numerous difficulties that should be met and resolved, taking into consideration each school’s reality.

I think António’s presentation contributed effectively to the enrichment of the meaning of (to enrich the meaning of collaborative work.

Palmira Serrano, Portugal

palmiraserrano — 2016-11-21 20:06:52 UTC

I think that the project that Antonio has developed with his students works and I agree with the 7 benefits to assessing collaborative learning. Students will develop the skills of the 21st century

Irena, Poland

irenagd — 2016-11-21 21:47:08 UTC

Antonio's video is very inspiring. I totally agree with the benefits summarising his project. Using 21st century IT tools for assessing is very helpful. I am also considering video conference in my project and using Kahoot to let students experience a kind of competition and team motivation. i am sure that our teaching should use any methods whose aim is improving students skills at any subject which can be also helpful in their future careers.

Jose, Portugal

jafscruz — 2016-11-22 00:04:42 UTC

This was an excellent demonstration of an etwinning project. Of course I agree with all benefits identified and of all his concerns about assessment. As I said before, this concerns may be less if students are more accustomed to evaluate their and others learning. I really agree with reorganizing the classroom space and introducing more interdisciplinary teaching and the sharing of materials amongst teachers as a important issues to the success of such activities.

Honorata Pereira, Portugal

honoratapereira — 2016-11-22 00:56:38 UTC

Evaluating is always the task of all teachers fleeing. However, the evaluation, in the context of collaborative learning, focuses on its agents (students and teachers), on the skills and abilities they acquire.
Thus, taking Antonio's testimony as an example, evaluations focused on skills and competences generate a healthy cycle of learning that is as useful to the student as to the teacher.

Gülseren ERDOĞAN, T

misileg02 — 2016-11-22 06:56:34 UTC

Gülseren ERDOĞAN, Turkiye

misileg02 — 2016-11-22 06:56:35 UTC

Last year we saw the beneficials of using web 2.0 tools. Students were eagerto attend the lesson and were in challange to produce something with their peers. Kahoot, quizlet, tackk, blabberize were just a few tools we used last year.

Conceição Aleixo, Portugal

caleixonline — 2016-11-22 09:47:55 UTC

The projects described by Antonio are very interesting in both points of view, the student collaboration and the teacher collaboration. I agree with the good impact of the use of collaborative digital tools, the reorganizing the classroom space and introducing more interdisciplinary teaching and the sharing of materials amongst teachers as useful tips.

Patrizia, Italy

patrizia_brion — 2016-11-22 16:09:44 UTC

I think that the Antonio's project presentation is are very interesting in both points of view, the student collaboration and the teacher collaboration.I totally agree with the 7 bentfits he refers to assessing collaborative learning. The usage of collaborative digital tools is essential for students working together because they offer the opportunity to get involved in a meaningful way and help them to learn.

Ionela Lazea, Romania

kameeliah16bis — 2016-11-22 17:06:16 UTC

The projects are very interesting and I like that they incorporated many ICT tools.

Fayna McNulty, Spain.

faynally — 2016-11-22 21:05:29 UTC

Of course, the main focus while assessing in collaborative learning should be the process more than the product. There is a lot involved in the process of collaborative team work that the teacher should assess and take into account. Many skills adquired and/or developed by the students during the process, may not be shown in the product.
Collaborative learning in my opinion, can be applied in any field: ICT, English, Maths, Social and Natural Studies, P.E..... and, in fact, we´ve seen different examples during this course.
Individual assessment is not an alternative to peer or group assessment. To me, they are all complementary and can be taken into account.
Usually, in the traditional learning, students are assessed in a different way as in collaborative learning. Many tools we have learnt in this course, are difficult to implement in a traditional learning model. In the other hand, traditional learning supports its assessment basicly through written and oral tests.

Amélia, Portugal

ameliamagalhaes — 2016-11-22 23:46:49 UTC

Interesting video. And fro a portuguese teacher. I agree with Antonio and I also agree that the use of digital tools and the reorganization of the classroom space are very important.

Sandra Teixeira, Portugal

2016-11-23 10:32:56 UTC

I think that this project presentation is very interesting in both points of view, the student's and teacher's collaboration.I totally agree with the benefits António's refer to assess collaborative learning. The usage of collaborative digital tools is essential for students working together with motivation, this way they get more involved in a meaningful way, so they learn more and better.

Marina/Italy

marina_bottacin — 2016-11-23 13:57:39 UTC

It-s all about the process learning to learn and lifelong learning. If teachers pay attention to these two elements and implement their lessons according to these points, you get a good result. I-m trying to work on this, sometimes spending a lot of time and having troubles in making the students understand my goals, but i-m already collecting some results. I use digital tools as popplet.com
text2mind
my website
my blog

Francisco Pinto, POR

2016-11-23 15:21:22 UTC

I agree with the all benefits to assessing collaborative learning. Creativity, communication, collaborative skills and critical thinking will be acquire by the students. Excelent video.

Anna Maria, Italy

mattielloannamaria — 2016-11-26 21:37:04 UTC

Very interesting video. I totally agree with Antonio ideas about collaborative work and the use of digital tools

Marília Bação. Portugal

mariliabacao — 2016-11-26 22:08:48 UTC

Very interesting video

Cristina Parente, Portugal

CrisParente — 2016-11-27 11:40:55 UTC

I completely agree with the 7 benefits António associates to assessing collaborative learning as well as with the challenges he mentions because I also experience the same challenges. I also think collaborative digital tools, the classroom space, interdisciplinary teaching and sharing materials are essential to collaborative work.

I entirely agree that the assessment of students' collaborative learning presents us with a major challenge, nevertheless it should not be given up. I think of collaborative learning as the process which requires to a large extent appropriately organized space, including digital tools, flexible classroom furniture and more interdisciplinary teaching.

paulina_rozmus — 2016-11-27 21:23:50 UTC