Working on Teams in an Online Setting

Entering the end of week 4 in our Assessments in e-Learning graduate course, I would like to share three of my reflections and observations from that material explored:

1. I learned how to make a Weebly. Simple, but significant. I am a tech geek. Whereas I have built websites using more complicated software, I never knew about Weebly until now.

2. I learned what the jigsaw method for collaborative team assessment means. Another term and method I was unfamiliar with. I now believe that all online courses should utilize at least one jigsaw activity as a requirement for completion.

3. Regarding assessment, I learned that projects can function in this role as more beneficial than something like an analysis paper or midterm exam. A project, be it done alone or on a team, applies the use of skills learned through the creativity process. Learning takes place when creativity happens, as the imagination (right brain) works symbiotically with the rationale logic (left brain) and new pathways are formed. Learning at its best.

 

Two insights I have about working on teams in an online college setting:

1. Working with teams on collaborative projects can be challenging. You never know who you will get on your team and most likely it is somebody you don’t know. A small amount of trust is necessary. You have to assume that these are all working adults who are paying hard-earned money for their courses. They wouldn’t be in the course if they didn’t plan on doing the work. They may not respond as quick as you’d like, yet in the end you must trust they will get it done.

2. Learning via collaborate team projects is a great way to practice William Horton’s Absorb-Do-Connect method for enacting course objectives. Whatever the material presented is about (absorb), the students get to work on a team and practice (do) hands-on activities of whatever the focus of the content. As they are working on this project, this ‘do’, they are also connecting. It is the connection that helps open portals to different parts of the mind where patterns are seen, analysis happens and the ‘absorb’ content comes to life through direct action.

One suggestion I have for working on teams in an online setting:

My advice for working on teams in an online setting would be to put all of your focus on communication. The majority of problems that occur on teams ties back to communication issues. Team members don’t receive emails, don’t respond promptly to emails or don’t write very long emails compared to others sometimes. I suggest that a team leader make a schedule at the beginning of the project with due dates for each step along the way during the project. Every member can receive a copy of it and see clearly what the expectations are. With a clear step-by-step schedule even for the small things, it removes some of the pressure of wondering if a team member will respond or do their share. Communication is what it’s all about.