6 Digital collaboration
Every day we are synchronously and asynchronously digitally collaborating (collaborating digitally in live time or at separate times to suit our own schedules). In our personal lives we share stories and make plans using apps and social media. In the workplace we have a vast range of collaboration tools available.
Activity 19 What does digital collaboration mean to you?
Think about the digital collaboration activities you take part in on a daily basis, other than attending online meetings, and list them below.
Feedback
On a daily basis, other than online meetings, I may collaborate digitally in the following ways:
- Emails
- Chat channels and instant messaging – to individuals and groups – Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, WhatsApp
- Hybrid/virtual workshops – using various tools to collaborate synchronously and solve problems in real time
- Task and project management planning and tracking tools – Trello, Monday, Todoist
- Project communication channels – Slack, Basecamp
- Online whiteboards – Miro, Mural
- Using social media – LinkedIn, specific subject matter sites
- Using comments and review functions in online documents – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Docs and Google Sheets
- Documents set up to track progress and share information
- Specialised collaboration tools for tasks – Frame.io (for reviewing videos), GitHub (for coding)
- Having fun – digital escape rooms, online gaming.
While you possibly already use some of the tools mentioned in the list, for those you are not familiar with, you may wish to make a note of them and explore any you think are appropriate for the context of your role. We’ll discuss some in the following section.
Digital collaboration happens in many ways, and often you may not realise that is what you are doing, as it may feel like an everyday task. How often have you left a comment in a document? This is a form of collaboration and probably one of the most effective and simple ways to communicate, share information and solve issues/problems. To help put digital collaboration into context, and for you to consider how you could collaborate in the future, the following case study describes how we worked on this course.