Collaborating in small groups for assignment projects demands complex learning skills in order for students to engage in constructive arguments. Knowing how to collaborate with others is a required skill for the 21st century in order to generate ideas amongst peers and is key learning which social and active. Group work is important in achieving a collaborative spirit online. This level of interaction occurs when there is trust and cohesion in groups. Groups often struggle and may adopt a cooperative approach (dividing tasks and assembling the final output) to avoid conflict. In order to ensure the quality of collaborative learning in online courses, you should carefully monitor the group collaboration process to find any groups that are too quiet, troubled, etc.
For group work to be successful a few simple rules need to be applied:
- Initially, usually during the first week, create a student introductory forum.
- Announce groups early in the semester.
- Encourage groups to make contact.
- Create clear instructions for group project(s).
- Limit group size to three or four, maximum five members.
- Encourage teams to collaborate with online applications.
- Be available for concerns and questions.
- Be culturally sensitive.
To encourage students to work in collaborative groups, you will need to remind students to:
- Use appropriate language, and avoid negative words expressing anxiousness, blaming, negligence, or bossy attitudes
- Express opinions clearly rather than position themselves in a grey area
- Be keen on project timeline, starting as early as possible
- Be prompt and responsive to members’ idea/suggestions
- Be connected via tools provided in the course (e.g., group forum, blogs) or outside media (e.g., Facebook, Skype, Google+)
How to create groups in Connect
Grouping Method:
- Randomized allocation method
- Systematic grouping can be based on student’s profile (gender, experience, academic ability, discipline, time zone, etc.), participation behaviour (level of contribution to class discussions)
- Students’ self-allocation
Group collaboration tools
There are several group online collaboration tools available for students. Here is a list of a few along with associated links:
- Synchronous group discussions: Blackboard Collaborate Course Room (available within Connect)
- Synchronous group discussions: Skype ( http://www.skype.com/en/features/)
- Discussion Board: asynchronous group discussions (available within Connect)
- Wiki: write, edit and share a collaborative report or paper (available within Connect)
- GoogleDocs: write, edit and collaborate for free. http://www.google.com/docs/about/
- Blogs: write, edit and share content (available within Connect)
- Concept Mapping Tool: MindMeister (https://www.mindmeister.com/)