COVID 19 has gave rise to the new normal of working from home, shopping from home, socialising from home, thus adult learners must be able to communicate and work with others virtually in order to remain employable in the digital shift. Therefore, we have collated a list of the best tools for virtual collaboration that will make educating and learning that bit more accessible.

Creating your own Collaborative Learning and Peer Connection Groups

Designing successful collaborative learning and peer connections groups, some things to consider:

• appropriate tool, app or technology (for example, software that allows for threaded discussions);

• you might need to include clear guidelines on learner/participantbehaviour, such as written codes of conduct for participating in discussions, and ensuring that they are enforced;

• participant/learner orientation and preparation, including technology orientation and explaining the purpose of group;

• clear goals for the group that are understood by the learners/participants

• choice of appropriate topics, that complement and expand issues in the study materials, and are relevant to answering assessment questions;

• setting an appropriate ‘tone’ or requirements for discussion (for example, respectful disagreement, evidence-based arguments);

• defining clearly learner roles and expectations, such as ‘you should log in at least once a week to each discussion topic and make at least one substantive contribution to each topic each week’;

• monitoring the participation of individual learners, and responding accordingly, by providing the appropriate scaffolding or support, such as comments that help learners develop their thinking around the topics, referring them back to study materials if necessary, or explaining issues when students seem to be confused or misinformed;

• regular, ongoing instructor ‘presence’, such as monitoring the discussions to prevent them getting off topic or too personal, and providing encouragement for those that are making real contributions to the discussion, heading off those that are trying to hog or dominate the discussions, and tracking those not participating, and helping them to participate