The Nature of Online Collaboration

With Web 2.0 being the buzz around the Internet, and Wikis, Blogs, Twitter, etc getting mentioned in just about every blog every day (me included), does it ask for a little ‘reflection’? What exactly is meant by the ‘Nature of Online Collaboration‘? Here’s a few links I thought I’d share with you (the original pages are worth a read too):

“A wiki is a collection of web pages with streamlined authoring, linking, and collaboration capabilities.”
Online Collaboration with a Wiki in Real Analysis

“the people who typically want to collaborate are also the ones who trust each other the most. They are also the people who recognize that they can benefit in some manner by collaborating.”
Reflections on the Nature of Collaboration

“Team members must get to know each other and, in the process, develop a relationship based on understanding, support and trust. Therefore, social contracts are necessary for a group to successfully work together.”
Successful Online Collaboration: Elements of effective online groups

“… electronic communication remains a poor substitute for face-to-face communication… some collaborative projects would not be practical without it.”
Internet Collaboration: Good, Bad, and Downright Ugly

“Collaboration can be effectively used to improve the quality and quantity of education in Online Learning Environments (OLEs) … detailed studies of OLEs, comparisons with Face-to-Face (FTF) methods, and experiments with new collaboration technology, as well as better monitoring and analysis tools are needed to expedite this endeavor.”
Collaboration Tools in Online Learning Environments

“As we become increasingly dependent upon online modes of communication and teaching in higher education, it is incumbent upon universities to not only provide ongoing and comprehensive professional development in online learning but to encourage participation through dedicated time release and/or other forms of workload relief in order for staff to effectively participate.”
Online student centred discussion: Creating a collaborative learning environment

“If meaningful and useful collaboration is to become an integral part of computer assisted education, it is essential that the students are motivated to participate.”
The collaborative aspects of online learning: A pilot study

If you’ve some more examples on the subject of Online Collaboration (good or bad, instructional or practical) please reply with your comment using the easy form below.