Getting to understand the team collaboration mess

It is probably one of the most under utilized strategies for many of us but in the nine weeks or so of myself being back in school, I have to say that I have learned more about the team collaboration concept than I probably would have ever thought possible.

At the UofP, working in teams is a part of the curriculum and if you have never really been a part of the concept, it is pretty challenging. Ironically we have all been exposed to the concept in some fashion. If you are an athlete or play sports, you're exposed to the concept. At your job, you're exposed to it even though they may call it different names.

But in the academia world, the concept is something that is challenging for online students simply because they are doing this concept in a virtual setting.

The class that I am just now finishing up,
SOC/110- TEAMWORK, COLLABORATION, AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION, is a continuation of what the school calls life long study skills. The course "provides an applied approach to teambuilding, collaboration, and conflict resolution. Students will understand and apply these concepts within academic and professional settings. Students will develop structures, processes, and strategies to create and maintain effective teams. Gender, cultural, and individual considerations in team dynamics will also be explored."

In other words you learn how to become an effective team leader, supervisor or project manager or at least equip yourself with better communication skills.

I've had many friends and family members ask me what would my degree entail or allow me to do.

Well according to the program description, "The Bachelor of Science in Communication (BS/COM) degree program is designed to develop knowledge and skills for effective communication in a variety of public and private work environments. The program was created specifically to build upon personal and professional communication experiences. The BS/COM degree enhances the communication skills necessary for the development of professional competence and values; critical thinking and problem solving; information utilization; and collaboration. The curriculum focuses on the development of core communication competencies. It emphasizes theory and application in the domains of interpersonal, small group, organizational, and mass communication. Specific areas of focus include business communication, diversity, intercultural communication, conflict resolution, legal and ethical issues, media and culture, and future trends in communication technology."

For me I think it gives me the license to be a bigger blabber mouth than usual!!

But on the serious end of things, the course I am currently in is about being able to effective communicate with team members on an individual level and also through a virtual world.

The project that is due by 12 p.m. M.S.T. tomorrow is a team collaborative paper that is to be no longer than 1,750 words complete with APA style references. Each team member in my team is assigned to work on a particular part of the paper and also help collaborate with the other. Now in a physical classroom setting, that wouldn't be a problem but as an online student, this is indeed a challenge.

Right now as I finish this blog entry, we [my virtual classmates] are working on the finishing touches of the paper.

I'll keep you posted on how that turned out.

Stay tuned…