Collaborative Tools for the Net Generation

ON THE FRONT PAGE of a recent Denver Post (March 20, 2006), an article about the net generation and business caught my eye. Perhaps it was the banner heading, Baby Boomer (77 million) Generation X (50 million) or Millennials (81 million), that attracted my attention, or perhaps it was the title, "As New Generation Grows, Employers Seek Its Groove" (1). Either way, this was an interesting article about how businesses such as Enterprise Rent-A-Car are accommodating the net generation. It turns out that in my backyard, in Aurora, Colorado, a research firm, the Center for Generational Studies, provides assistance to businesses on generational issues in the workplace. As a good digital native, I immediately googled the center. Perusing its website (www.gentrends.com/index.html), I started thinking about one of the positive characteristics of the net generation--the propensity toward teamwork and collaboration. It is refreshing to know that someone likes teamwork and collaboration since interdisciplinary collaboration is a core Institute of Medicine competency for all health care professionals. A brief review of net generation characteristics reminds us that these are digital natives (2) who are connected/wired, use multiple forms of communication, and want engaging, interactive, and collaborative learning experiences. They are social and inherently interested in peer-to-peer collaboration. They like to work in teams and do not complain when given group assignments. Given these characteristics, how can we take advantage of software tools to connect with the net generation and create online learning communities that foster collaboration? Collaborative Learning Tools In the 1990s, collaborative learning received a lot of attention in higher education, with numerous articles and books touting its virtues. Bruffee (3, p. 3) stated that "collaborative learning assumes that knowledge is a consensus among the members of a community of knowledgeable peers -something people construct by talking together and reaching agreement." It involves: * Communication (one-to-one, one-to-many, real time and asynchronous, and communicating via text, audio, or video) * Sharing of resources (bringing resources together for the team/group to learn and making those resources available for learning) * Sharing ideas (having learning spaces that encourage interaction among team/group that allows for brainstorming, dialogue, and discussion, as well as co-creating and co-editing of documents). Software that allows teams or groups to interact facilitates collaborative work. According to Wikipedia, "Collaborative software, also known as groupware, is an application software that integrates work on a single project by several concurrent users at separate workstations" (http:Hen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupware). Groupware can be broken down into a variety of tools, including knowledge management, knowledge creation, and information-sharing tools. Another way to look at collaboration tools is according to levels of collaboration: * Electronic communication tools: email, voice (Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP), instant messaging * Electronic conferencing tools: data conferencing (white board capacity), audio and video conferencing, message hoards (asynchronous discussions), and real-time chat sessions (synchronous) * Collaborative management tools: time management software such as electronic calendars, project management tools, knowledge management tools, and workflow systems. A host of online collaborative tools are available. You may even find some of capabilities for collaborative learning in your existing course management tools such as WebCT[TM]. But you may also want to explore other tools built on the collaboration model. As you explore, keep in mind that some tools can be licensed and made available through a local campus server, or services may be purchased through an application service provider (ASP) that hosts the software. …