Group Work Done!
After all the grumbling, and all the stress, and all the mixed up meetings and non-meetings...it's DONE!! You can view it here if you so desire...
http://portal.sliderocket.com/BMZNX/Copy-of-Cognitive-and-Metacognitive-Reading-Strate-(2)_1
I think it turned out pretty good. I'm very happy with it. I'm also happy about the fact that in the process, I learned how to use new tools I had never used before: Sliderocket, Prezi, Glogster, and PBWiki.
Sliderocket was awesome and easy. Prezi still makes me dizzy and seasick, and Glogster was really simple and fun!
The PBWiki is still baffling to me....too many things on there...it's overwhelming....too many pages, lists, menus...my group had at least 6 different pages set up and I never knew where was the best place to communicate. Plus, you can see ALL of the OTHER groups' work too, and when you multiply the 20 messages a day by 8 groups and 6 pages per group....it's very very confusing! Not a fan of Wikis so far! We ended up communicating almost exclusively by Gmail, which perhaps defeats the purpose a bit, but it was much more direct and easier to understand!
Now... has my opinion on group work changed at all? Hmmmm.... perhaps it has softened a little. I had really nice guys on my team, and even though we took an uncomfortably long time to get started, I think we all pulled it together in the end. But I still have to wonder...was all the discomfort, panic, and 'taking over my life' really worth it? I still say no. If I'm honest, I think I could have done the same thing completely on my own, and in much shorter time. The process of working across time zones just isn't efficient. By the time I make changes, post to other members, wait for their replies, sleep, and get online again...it's 24 hours between each communication. I wouldn't get responses to my stuff until every morning. And then not be able to work on it until later that evening (have to work in between). The process was incredibly, painfully slow and inefficient, and in our busy lives, with work, school, family, and personal obligations...it was just too long to wait. I felt like I could have been done a week ago if I had done it myself.
So, now....on to the rest of my life...and the next units...where new challenges await! Group Work...adios, good-bye, and good riddance..... for now!
Your presentation is lovely and clear. I like it very much. We used Prezi, despite the apprehension we discussed on Google+ the other day. In the end, it wasn't as abhorrent as I remember, but it's still not a gorgeous platform.
ReplyDeleteI echo every sentiment you made about group work. There was nothing wrong with the people, but in a distance situation, very inefficient and I didn't really get much from it as a collaborative thing. If anything, many factors were challenging when they didn't have to be had we done it alone.
Thanks, Tyson...
DeleteAlthough the process progressively became less horrible, I agree, that a lot of the stress didn't have to be there. I guess we now need to figure out how to alleviate that stress for our students, or head it off right from the start.
I'm just starting to go through the presentations now, so I'll see yours soon!