Above and Beyond with Collaboration

Above and Beyond with Collaboration — page 1 — S GET TOGETHER No Man Is an Island What ls Collaboration When you collaborate with others you O demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams Have you heard the saying Two heads are better than one If you've ever done a research project or worked with a group to design a video game you know it s true Having input and help from different people can make a project stronger and more interesting Working together can make tasks easier If everyone pitches in to pack the camping gear for a vacation the job is faster and smoother This is called collaboration It is all about working well with others to achieve a goal exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal O assume shared responsibility for collaborative work and value the individual contributions made by each team member Coming together is a beginning keeping together is progress working together is success Henry Ford

Above and Beyond with Collaboration — page 2 — Global Teamwork Technology and the Internet have changed the way we work and play in the world Fifty years ago most work was done by individuals working alone Now most important projects are carried out by teams of people Today's instant communications systems make it possible for those teams to be made up of people from around the globe a as S to 21st Century Skills Our digitally interconnected world is always changing and evolving To keep up and be successful we have to be lifelong learners which means that we must be constantly learning how to think in new and innovative ways The Partnership for 21st Century Learning is an organization that has identified four essential skills that students need to build to achieve their goals at school at work and in their personal lives They are the 4Cs communication collaboration creativity and critical thinking Each skill is important on its own but combining the four together in our everyday lives is the key to success in a 21st century

Above and Beyond with Collaboration — page 3 — Skill set People may assume that they know how to work with others but collaboration involves specific skills It means being patient asking for and evaluating each other's ideas listening carefully and sharing your own thoughts Like all skills you need to learn and practice these to work and collaborate well Look at the list of collaboration skills How many do you think you have SPOTLIGHT Wikipedia is one of the most widely viewed websites in the world It is a collaborative online encyclopedia with more than 38 million articles in 290 zlanguages It is unique because it is written by anonymous volunteers Wikipedia is called a tive collaboration which means it is being changed and improved all the time by people all over the world People of all ages cultures and backgrounds can create or contribute to any article as long as they can back up their information with credible sources The more people that work on any one article the more complete and balanced it becomes However because anyone can add or change information errors and even vandalism can creep in Editors keep an eye on the pages and can fix problems and inaccurate contributions L

Above and Beyond with Collaboration — page 4 — Collaboration skills a giving and receiving feedback One Step at a Time I sharing credit with others for good ideas I acknowledging others skills experience creativity and contributions I recognizing the feelings and opinions of others I expanding on the ideas of others I being able to state your own opinions tactfully or with awareness of others feelings Learning how to work effectively with others can seem to be a huge task So what is the best way to improve your collaboration skills Focusing on one skill at a time is a good way to make sure you have truly conquered each one If you are practicing sharing credit for good ideas you can check the body language of your teammates to make sure you are successfully getting your point across Are they smiling because their efforts have been recognized or are they rolling their eyes I istening patiently to others during disagreements I defining problems in a nonthreatening way I supporting group decisions even if you don't completely agree STEP 3 STEP 2 STEP 1

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