Collaboration in Learning: Transcending the Classroom Walls

With the classroom at centre stage in Collaboration in Learning, authors Mal Lee and Lorrae Ward look beyond the bygone era when schools operated within a paper-based, silo-effected, educational paradigm. In its place is a new mode of teaching, one in which there is no boundary between schools, teachers, students, parents, and the wider community. And, while the single most important denominator in this revolutionary shift is technology, for the first time, there is a resource that dissects what actually happens when the use of the digital is normalised; when every teacher in a school employs the digital as a natural part of their daily regime. With case studies from a diverse range of schools - from the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand - the emerging trend is one of authentic, enquiry-based learning. In this networked era, there exists an enhanced awareness and deeper appreciation of the learning that occurs in all aspects of a student's life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and of the value of that learning in a formal educational context and beyond. The results are a greater personalisation of learning, a richer school-based environment and greater collaboration between home and school. The benefits for teachers, students, parents and communities-learners one and all-can be said to transcend the classroom walls, and are as enduring as they are profound. Collaboration in Learning also includes a 'benefits realisation' chapter, adapted to the school environment. The book reinforces a holistic focus on collaboration in learning, with the learner at the centre, rather than a traditional 'top-down' teaching methodology. This title consolidates the message from Bring Your Own Technology and stands as an independent yet complementary title.

About the Author :
Mal Lee is an author and educational consultant specialising in the use of digital technology in the evolution of schooling. He is a former director of schools and secondary college principal who writes extensively on effective use of use of technology in teaching. He is the co-author of Leading a Digital School, The Use of Instructional Technology in Schools, The Interactive Whiteboard Revolution and Developing a Networked School Community. His most recent publication with ACER Press is Bring Your Own Technology, a fitting prelude to Collaboration in Learning. Dr Lorrae Ward is an independent educational researcher, evaluator and consultant in New Zealand. She has been a secondary school teacher and university lecturer. Her research and publications cover a wide spectrum of educational issues, always with the core focus of improving student outcomes. Her key areas of interest are school reform and digital technologies.