In this global age of information, we are tasked with providing learning opportunities that promote contemporary scholarship. With the plethora of Web 2.0 tools available for collaboration, it's hard to know where to begin to encourage digital literacy. The first step in that process is to be aware of the tools, the next step is to model their use. Only then can we guide our students toward the best resources to improve their digital literacy, encouraging them to grow adept at working and living in an age of global information. This presentation will demonstrate the potential of six free online tools for use in collaborative research that faculty and students alike can apply to their scholarly endeavors: 1.Zotero enables users to manage bibliographic data and to store web-page snapshots and other electronic objects, and collaborate with colleagues on ongoing research. (zotero.org) 2.Wiggio is a free, online toolkit that makes it easy to work in groups. You can share and edit files, have a group calendar, poll each other, share links, chat online and send mass text, voice, and email messages to your group members. (wiggio.com) 3.Diigo provides a browser add-on where you can easily share your findings, complete with your highlights and sticky notes, with friends and colleagues. A project team, a class, or a club can create a group on Diigo to pool relevant resources, findings, and thoughts together. (diigo.com) 4.Eyeplorer is a graphical knowledge engine that visualizes facts as well as relationships between facts. (eyeplorer.com) 5.Wiki - a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone with access to contribute or modify content (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) 6.Google Tools(Google Docs and Google groups.) Google Docs is a free, Web-based word processor, spreadsheet, presentation form, and data storage service. It allows users to create and edit documents online while collaborating in real-time with other users. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_docs) Google Groups is a great way to connect and share with a group using shared web pages, file sharing, team discussions, and task lists. (http://groups.google.com) Through this presentation, participants will: - Acquire awareness of six web 2.0 tools that can be used for collaborative research - Observe the theory and practice of applying these tools in both K-12 and Higher Education environments - Envision the incorporation of collaborative research tools as contributing to the success of contemporary scholars - Prepare to evaluate the use of one or more of these tools in personal scholarly research
