The nature and purpose of the collaborative task drive the success of the assignment/experience. Collaborative assignments should not be assigned simply because group work is popular in education today. As it was pointed out in our readings on online courses, more of an effort must be made to build relationships between students in this disembodied, technical environment. Collaborative work can be a vehicle for creating these relationships and thereby assisting students in having a more positive experience with the benefit of peer-to-peer support found in a traditional classroom setting. Differing personal strengths and weaknesses can work to produce the best possible products in a group environment as some people are more creative, others are stronger leaders and others may be more analytical, etc. These individual qualities can all be capitalized upon in a group environment to support each other in pursuit of a common goal. For this reason group work in a traditional classroom (and frankly I am thinking of a K-12 environment here) is often carefully assigned, with teachers working at balancing groups with members with different qualities and strengths to make a dynamic, supportive group.
In an online environment personalities are not as easily established and thus groups are often assigned randomly. In a less professional program than SLIS this can lead to a disparity in the work load, often leading to resentments of those shouldering much of the work and carelessness and shirking by those not as invested in the course or project. For this reason collaboration in an undergraduate environment should have an assessment component that allows group members to reflect upon the process, division of labor and group dynamics. Also the purpose of the assignment should be examined carefully. Is this merely to allow more student interaction? Then the grading scale and depth/quality of the outcome should reflect this purpose.
Often we depend upon discussion with others to deepen our understanding of a topic or assignment. Especially in the online environment it is easy to get hung up on small details of an assignment or simply miss the purpose of the experience while trying to work out the details. Being able to bounce ideas and concepts off of one another can often allow us to get “unstuck” and move forward in our thinking or brainstorming. In a traditional classroom environment this may occur naturally when the assignment is handed out. The teacher/professor usually passes out the assignment sheet, goes over the general details, and then allows for questions and comments from the students. The discussion unfolds naturally and student understanding increases through this discussion. This organically occurring understanding is not as readily available in an online environment, but can be assisted through a discussion thread dedicated to the assignment. Many assignments, such as our assignment for this class requiring the development of a rubric, can really benefit from an exchange of ideas between two or more group members. I know that the final product for that particular assignment was much stronger, as was my overall understanding of the assignment, due to the collaboration of my partner and myself than if that project would have been assigned individually.
One concern that I have about collaboration in an online course is the method of communication and sharing of the work. I have found the development of collaborative relationships to be stronger when group discussion threads are set up for each project. This allows students to easily sift through different ideas and suggestions as new threads are developed and group members weigh-in with their thoughts and ideas. Email can be effective but more difficult to parse through when coalescing ideas. I also have found that it is more expedient to use the built-in components of the course software to eliminate discussions centered on what method of communication to use, what blog or wiki or workgroup to set-up, etc. This takes up time and often necessitates the learning of a new platform, new passwords etc that can make managing the course overwhelming or weighty. I am not against learning new sites or software for collaboration, but often we are pressed for time and it would be beneficial to use the course software that we have already taken the time to learn to manage instead of adding another component to the mix. Time management and group organization are large considerations when taking online courses.
Your comments about the selection of a tool for collaborative groups to use for communication remind me of so many group experiences. It is something that I have come to both dread and appreciate. I feel as if I can barely keep track of all of the wikis, blogs, or email accounts I use. Each new group assignment seems to be accompanied with a new technological platform that will have to be managed and remembered. Yet somehow, I have come to be somewhat proficient in the use of about a gazillion new resources. Each time I have had to talk to a group about what type of platform we would like to use, I am continuing the ongoing debate that I am having in my professional life as well. What tools are best for which functions? Which tools can I teach kids to use, and how will those tools help students to understand content better? Using all of these tools within the context of collaborative assignments also means that I am able to talk to group members about challenges I face with the use of these tools.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with your assessment that it would be beneficial to use course software already in place rather than new ones when collaborating in an online environment. Although it is not insurmountable, I still expend a sizable amount of time each semester getting acclimated with the course applications for each of my classes. The applications themselves are not that difficult to learn, but effort is directed more at remembering which applications are used with which classes and the passwords/setups/schemes. I also commend your statement regarding importance of time management and group organization in the online environment.
ReplyDeleteI can really relate to your comment about the slipperiness of using email for collaborative work, especially, as you write, when attempting to "coalesce ideas." I experienced this firsthand in a group project in another class this semester. "Parsing through" each group member's email to locate and then comment on or augment an idea or observation was extremely hard. Another problem with email is the way in which it invites a curious combination of detachment and delicateness/sensitivity on the part of all involved. There is a lot of miscommunication that goes on via email, and there are multiple ways to misperceive someone's tone or intentions that does not generally take place in a face-to-face environment, and, when it does, these instances can be confronted "head-on."
ReplyDeleteSorry to go off topic a bit here, but I thought it was interesting that you brought up the issue with email. I found that creating a google doc pertaining to a specific issue or topic and contributing ideas and feedback in this forum was infinitely more useful and effective than the back and forth volley of emails!