Reflection on Online Collaboration and TESOL Classroom Application

This assignment is a reflection on a collaborative online wiki project titled 'The Experience of Learning an additional language,' focusing on the benefits of online collaboration for learners, particularly in the context of becoming professional teachers. The paper discusses the positive impacts of online collaboration on interaction, communication, and data exchange, as well as its efficiency in overcoming time and space limitations. The author intends to apply online collaboration in the TESOL classroom, addressing potential issues like accountability. The reflection evaluates the experience, identifying both positive and negative aspects, and suggests applications in ESL writing classrooms. The rationale for using online tools in ESL writing is to foster a sense of community, enhance mutual help, and reduce writing stress, ultimately improving learners' language skills and confidence. The assignment also includes references to relevant research supporting the use of online collaboration in language learning.

Running head: REFLECTION ON ONLINE COLLABORATION 1
Reflection on Online Collaboration
Name
Institution

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Reflection on Online Collaboration
Introduction
The Title of the collaborative Wiki Paper of my group is known as 'The Experience of
Learning an additional language'. In this collaborative Wiki paper, we discussed some of the
challenges that learners face in the process of becoming professional teachers. The main purpose
of this paper is to discuss the benefits of online collaboration to learners.
Collaborating on the online task indeed has a great positive impact on the performance
of any group. This is because it helps the group in improving the process of interaction,
communication, as well as facilitates the exchange of data among the group members (Wang et
al. 2017). Also, the use of the online tool is so essential because it enable members of the group
to work together efficiently and effectively without any limitation of time and space (Wang,
Fang and Gu, 2020). I shall apply online collaboration in the TESOL classroom because it
improves the performance of the students in classroom
The disadvantage of online collaboration is that it requires every member of the group to
be accountable for their own tasks to ensure that deadlines are met. I shall prevent this problem
by educating the students on the important of being responsible in the classroom.
Online collaboration can be applied in the ESL writing classrooms. It is true that teaching
via online tools is quite essential to the learning of a foreign language. This is because such
teaching may encourage the students to interact with each other. Also, it gives the geographically
separated learners the opportunity of collaborating learning, exchanging information and ideas,
as well as discovering alternatives in learning (Rashid, Yunus & Wahi, 2019). The uses of online
collaborative task within the classroom enable the students to have more control over the
learning process. The rationale of using online tools in ESL writing lessons is that good writing
may be made possible by building a sense of community/audience in writing, enhancing mutual

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help as well as reducing the stress of writing. These aspects may indeed be realized through the
use online tools because technology encourages collaboration as well as expands writing
community of learners, which in turn aids to make students' more aware of the significance of
audience in writing. Many researchers argue that online collaboration can help in developing
learners' confidence and language skills (Barrot, 2016). Therefore, online collaboration should be
applied in classroom because it helps in developing learners’ language skill.
Most of the learners indeed prefer to apply online collaboration in their writing;
nevertheless, there remain numerous areas in which collaborating on the online task is found to
be ineffective. For instance, the absence of useful peer feedback from members of the group can
account for many learners' negative feelings towards the application of online collaboration in
ESL writing.

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References
Barrot, J. S. (2016). Using Facebook-based e-portfolio in ESL writing classrooms: impact and
challenges. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 29(3), 286-301.
Rashid, A. A., Yunus, M. M., & Wahi, W. (2019). Using Padlet for collaborative writing among
ESL learners. Creative Education, 10(3), 610-620.
Wang, C., Fang, T. and Gu, Y., 2020. Learning performance and behavioral patterns of online
collaborative learning: Impact of cognitive load and affordances of different
multimedia. Computers & Education, 143, p.103683.
Wang, M., Cheng, B., Chen, J., Mercer, N., & Kirschner, P. A. (2017). The use of web-based
collaborative concept mapping to support group learning and interaction in an online
environment. The Internet and Higher Education, 34, 28-40.