Who Are These People, And How Do We Work Together? Creating An Environment For Global Collaboration With Information And Communication Technologies

In the new online, globalized world, both companies and individuals use several web-based tools for communication and collaboration. In order to better prepare students for working in this world, the authors developed a project in which first-year introductory technology students from Bentley University in the United States and fourth-year multimedia students from “Politehnica” University of Timisoara in Romania worked together to evaluate two similar online collaboration tools. The instructors created a learning environment for students to meet, socialize, exchange information, and develop and publish their results online. This paper presents the analysis and student comments from working together using online collaborative and communication tools. On technological, pedagogical, cultural and organizational levels, this project also contributes to innovation by supporting universities in their efforts to teach students to develop life-long digital literacy skills by using web-based collaboration tools, improving learning strategies, and embedding networks of cooperation that jointly enhance their innovative potential.