Some thoughts on collaborative group working in an asynchronous forum

We've finished the collaborative activity 6.3, and to be honest the requirement to refelect on it in TMA02 is like asking me to go and relive a car crash. I can reflect on this in a positive way, by completely detatching it from the specifics of our own group experience, but I don't find the kinds of reflections in our group forums which criticise the actions of certain individuals helpful, and so won't be responding there. Similarly, my reflections here are about group work in general, and not our specific roles, tasks, or outcomes.

One reflection I had early on was regarding the importance of understanding roles in group. It was suggested that we should allocate roles at the beginning of the task, but I think this is actually very hard for any group to do from the position of not knowing the individuals in the group, and not yet having a clear conception of the task. While it might be useful to have individuals take on specific roles, in a group which does not know each other well you cannot tell who will be suited to what roles. This problem isn't unique to online forums (there'll be a similar difficulty in any ad-hoc team), but the additional constraints and problems of asynchronous communication make this all the harder for a new online team.

Communication in an asynchronous forum is fraught with well-documented difficulties, including misinterpretations leading to upset or offence, problems with crossed threads (e.g. two people writing at the same time, and so unable to see the other's response, and therefore appearing to ignore it or to duplicate suggestions) and the sheer difficulty of catching up with a multi-threaded discussion if you are away from any period of time. There are difficulties with language and explanations - what appears clear in the author's head can easily be interpreted differently by readers. Given the lack of opportunity to clarify misunderstandings, the asynchronous online forum seems to require extra levels of clarity, precision and tact, including judging when not to respond. There is also a difficulty in reaching agreements or decisions when there is no way to know when individual participants will be available to read and respond.

The nature of the collaborative forum forces participants to use certain agreed working methods. While these may be accepted by all members of the group, it is likely that no one method will be the optimum for everyone's individual learning and working styles. Organisation which one person sees as adding clarity may muddy the waters for another, for example the use of several locations for different elements of discussion - for some it may be very useful to keep aspects discreet, for others this may just add to confusion of where to find content.

Clearly, given my use of a car crash analogy, this group work has actually been a hurtful experience. More frustrating is that I'm not clear what I was supposed to learn from it - and I have seen comments from so many demotivated students in this past fortnight. The requirement to reflect on the group's success is fine done in private, but postings to group forums just seem likely to further inflame misunderstandings and upset. This has left me very likely to be very wary of engaging with group work in future, and rather than help me build trust and community, has left me wanting to run screaming from the place. I don't believe this was the OU's target, but the reflection seems to be requiring further raking over of ground which many of us just want to move on from and leave behind.

New beginnings

I'm just beginning H808 - an Open University Masters level course which I hope will help me to develop as an eLearning Professional.

I seem to be a somewhat reluctant entrant to blogging - I enjoy writing, keep copious notes, enjoy interacting with other students, read other blogs and forums, build web sites and publish papers... but I've never felt quite comfortable with putting my thoughts out there for anyone to read - and criticise. I'm sure other students on the course will be friendly and helpful, but dipping my toe in the water is nerve-racking.

It's interesting to experience the point of view of the overwhelmed (but keen!) new learner. I've done lots of studying, both distance-learning and in a fixed uni research office, but I feel very new here. For a fairly technology-savvy person to be experiencing this level of anxiety makes me very aware of how carefully students who are new to both distance learning and using various technologies to engage with that learning need to be supported.

Exciting isn't it!
Well, it would be quite a bit more exciting if I was able to communicate with my course mates! I can read the forums, see them all chatting away, introducing themselves and starting to share useful pointers and discussion... but I don't have Reply or Start new discussion buttons yet! I'm sure they will come, and their current lack of presence is due to my registering on the course on the last available day, but it's a bit frustrating. It means I see it all going on, but feel left behind before we've even begun! Again, a concern to watch out for in supporting elearners - make sure the technology is an enabler and not a hindrance!

I look forward to emeeting all my course mates soon, and am now going to see if I can find a way to post this on to them via a helpful course moderator (thanks Helen :-) )