Learning
in communities can easily be confused with group work. In our group’s
discussions, Rafi shared a comprehensive definition of collaborative learning.
This definition can be paraphrased to describe collaborative learning as broad
overarching term encompassing the efforts of teachers and students.
Collaborative learning includes a variety of approaches, tools and techniques.
Individuals in the collaborative learning process work on a single task and
apply their minds to create a single outcome that is indicative of the group’s
collaborative efforts.

To
ensure true collaboration occurs, each individual needs to engage with the
content as well as the different ideas that individual group members put forth.
 It is not adequate for individual group
members to discuss, thereafter work in isolation and then collate all information.
Collaboration entails discussion and dissemination of different ideas, the
selection of  common accepted ideas and
then the arguing for and against the relevance of an idea. In this way all
members of a group are able to participate in the main ideas and collective
ideas will begin to emerge.

Collaborative
learning will entail clearly defined structure as well as guidelines and
monitoring by a facilitator. The success of collaboration rests upon the
facilitator being able to guide and coordinate the efforts of individual group
members ensuring all individuals participate and engage. The preparation and
efforts for collaboration is much higher than group work. A facilitator will
need to actively direct the group and create suitable assessment tasks and
touch points.

Assessments
take on a new dimension in collaboration. The general assessment criteria do
not meet the requirements for collaboration due to the building, sharing and
remixing of ideas. Assessments must be designed to test a collaborative effort.

Collaborative learning has benefits and challenges. The ONL experience has shed light on this and the benefits I would associate with collaborative learning are the following:

• Increased engagement to ensure you are on
  par with your colleagues
• Confidence in my abilities
• Increased frame of reference
• Accountability for my own deliverables as
  well as the greater group deliverables.
• Increased creativity

The challenges that I encountered with the collaborative effort of the ONL are as follows:

• Time constraints
• Scheduling in relation to other group
  members
• Adapting to different leadership styles in
  a short space of time.

Overall,
collaboration has been an exciting experience and one that I would recommend
all academics engage in.

However,
the benefits of collaborative learning far outweigh the challenges. A stand out
factor of collaborative learning is the fact that as time progresses
collaborative learning becomes easier. Roles are established, patterns followed
and a general sense of

Sources:

Difference between
group work and collaboration. Evidence of collaboration : https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/group-vs-collaborative-learning-knowing-difference-makes-difference/ 

https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/teaching-learning-toolkit/collaborative-learning/Share
with the ONL192 community https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/engaging-students/collaborative-learning