The Collaborative Journey…

In every class I’ve taken, when group work or collaboration is mentioned, there is always an audible moan of fear and contempt. I’ve slowly begun to not fear collaborative projects as much. There’s more to learn from working with someone than alone. The benefit of having a partner is huge. If you’re not sure of a concept, or have an idea that may or may not be beneficial, you can always bounce your thoughts off a partner to get their input. A second opinion, hopefully unbiased, can let you know if you’re heading in the right direction.

I’ve found group projects easier and more successful when each team member can play a role that suits them. If the project requires interviewing people, let the outgoing talker have that responsibility. If there’s an artistic element, don’t give it to the person that can’t draw a straight line while using a ruler. The downside to group projects is the  not knowing. Not knowing if everyone is doing their respective work in a timely fashion. Not knowing how well you’re work will blend with that of the others.

Working alone can be just as troubling as in a group. Granted, you know how you work, you know how you think, and you know you’re strengths and weaknesses. You also know you procrastinate. It’s too easy to put off work when you’re solo. The end result will be concise and consistent.

I had a project with three other team members that consisted of extensive research, graphics, a final presentation, and a rather thick final paper. What made this different that my previous projects is the meeting schedule. All members met in the Student Success Center to review our individual work and to collaborate and finalize the different sections of the paper. We all had a similar career background, with the distinguishing difference being myself majoring in English. I was quickly nominated as the editor for the group. At the end of each meeting, we had completed the next assignment that was due and scheduled our next meeting. In the end, we had our final project and presentation complete two weeks before it was due. The key to our success was planning and communication.

This project has the potential to be very rewarding. I like having the choice of books to read. I chose Journey to the Center of the Earth since I know the very basics or the plot, and I like Jules Verne. The mild familiarity will let me focus more on looking for subtext and themes than having to focus on plot alone. Deciding on the appropriate digital humanity tools to use may prove daunting. While the novel lends itself to a timeline/mapping style in a similar vein as Dracula, I don’t want to overlook any other possibilities. Ideally, I can get the novel read quickly and allow time to play with new tools and evaluate how they could be incorporated to the final project.

Fourteen chapters in, and there is not much going on. The journey from Germany to Iceland is nicely detailed concerning locations and dates/duration. Having reached the desired crater, our team of adventurers is currently looking over the precipice into darkness…