Project # 13 Report on Collaboration

I have enjoyed working with my Group TACE. We honestly had a great time and plan on keeping in touch with each other after EDM310. We used Google Docs, Google Hangout, Gmail and texting to collaborate on our final projects. By using these tools, we could work on our own time while still keeping all members of the group informed and on the same page. Working collaborative with others can definitely be a good thing. I think working collaborative allows each individually to express their strengths. Since not everyone is going to have the same strengths and weaknesses, one person’s strengthen may be another’s weakness. So this allows support within the group and everyone feels a since of accomplishment. It also allows members of the group to brainstorm and come up with a variety of ideas, which in turn helps the lesson or project become far better or creative than it may have been if individually written.  It also allows opportunities to meet new people and to learn from them. I like to think it is preparing us for the real world. Soon or later, we will be faced with a job where we are going to have to work with multiple people and we are will have to know how to handle and adjust to the situation. I think it is important for everyone to feel like a member of the team.

Some of the disadvantages of working collaborating in a group would be time. Since no one is on the same clock, time is always going to be a factor. I think you have to consider time when working together in a group situation and if not all members can meet face to face, that is okay; as long as each member is communicating with each other and it does not affect the outcome of the assignment or goal. There may also be times when members of the group are not as concerned about the deadline or the final product as you may be. In cases like this, I think it is important to talk about the project before hand and set deadlines within the group. It is important each member of the group understands the purpose for the deadlines. For example, someone in the group may need to finish the project before leaving to go out of the town, or someone in the group cannot meet on Monday’s because of a job or other classes. I think overall communication is the biggest factor and as long as everyone communicates well within the group, and is willing to participate everything will work out in the end.