{"id":6682,"date":"2015-05-13T15:22:19","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T20:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=6682"},"modified":"2022-06-14T01:54:14","modified_gmt":"2022-06-14T06:54:14","slug":"online-group-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/online-group-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Group Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent<\/p>\n<p>Most students have mixed feelings about group work and usually moan and groan when they find out they are required to work on a group assignment. This is also true for students taking online classes. Group work is more challenging for online students because they may have to work with peers in different time zones, use different technologies for online collaboration, and communicate in ways that can make it difficult to understand someone\u2019s personality or tone.<\/p>\n<p>Many students cite lack of cooperation, work equity and dependency on others as major factors in disliking group work. Ironically, this is precisely why group work is essential for learning.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Online Group Projects \u2014 Yikes! You can hear the moans and groans of students echoing through your computer monitors as you start the first week of your online course. The reasons for requiring a group project vary from one discipline to another, but there are educational and career motives for requiring group projects.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Steven Johnson\u2019s \"Where good ideas come from\" video gives an excellent explanation as to why group work is important. <\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NugRZGDbPFU?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:5px\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/NugRZGDbPFU\" title=\"Where good ideas come from\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\"Where good ideas come from\" video [00:04:06]<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Successful online group collaborative assignments can be a challenge in an online course. In a recent <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facultyfocus.com\/\">Faculty Focus<\/a> article, Gregory Wells, instructional designer at Colorado State University, provided a few suggestions for improving online group work assignments. Those suggestions are:<\/p>\n<dl>\n<dt> <\/dt>\n<dd><strong>Define the Project<\/strong> - the project should be integrated into the course objectives and not be viewed as an extra assignment or busy work. <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<dl>\n<dt> <\/dt>\n<dd><strong>Establish Milestones<\/strong> - the project should include specific milestones during the course. <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<dl>\n<dt> <\/dt>\n<dd><strong>Use the Learning Management System (Blackboard)<\/strong> - offer private group discussion areas, chat areas, and other collaboration tools that will encourage both communication and participation. <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<dl>\n<dt> <\/dt>\n<dd><strong>Simplify and Clarify Grading<\/strong> - it is imperative that you establish clear grading expectations for the group project. <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<dl>\n<dt> <\/dt>\n<dd><strong>Provide Encouragement<\/strong> - it is important to encourage and communicate the specific details of the project. Instructors can not assume students have the knowledge, competencies and skills necessary to engage in group work. They must prepare students for the obstacles they may face. <\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<p>Following Gregory\u2019s suggestions will not eliminate all of the potential issues that come into play with online group work, but these suggestions will certainly minimize the issues and can turn those moans and groans into excited and energized students that understand the importance of group work.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on Gregory\u2019s suggestions, read his article, \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facultyfocus.com\/articles\/online-education\/five-steps-to-improving-online-group-work-assignments\/\">Five Steps to Improving Online Group Work Assignments<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, you may find helpful information in these online group work resources: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.livebinders.com\/play\/play?id=1060120\">Strategies & Tools for Online Collaborative Group Work<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-106-working-with-groups\/\">Bb Tip #106: Working with Groups<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent Most students have mixed feelings about group work and usually moan and groan when they find out they are required to work on a group assignment. This is also true for students taking online classes. Group work is more challenging for online students because they may have to work with peers in <a href=\"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/online-group-work\/\" class=\"more-link\">...continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \"Online Group Work\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[120,163],"class_list":{"0":"post-6682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-online","7":"category-teaching","8":"tag-elearning","9":"tag-groups","10":"h-entry","11":"hentry","12":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-1JM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13368,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/online-group-projects\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":0},"title":"Online Group Projects","author":"Janice Florent","date":"April 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Most students have mixed feelings about group work and usually moan and groan when they find out they are required to work on a group assignment. This is also true for students taking online classes. Group work is more challenging for online students because they may have to work with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"image showing unhappy team member","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/puzzle-1020221_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8128,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/engage-students-through-online-collaboration\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":1},"title":"Engage Students Through Online Collaboration","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent In a recent eLearning Industry article, Dr. Amy Thornton, Director of the Center of Online Learning at Columbus State University, listed multiple strategies to engage students online. Dr. Thornton wrote that it is important to allow students to engage with content in different ways to ensure learning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photomontage with globe in foreground","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/photomontage-1313559_640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3880,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/bb-tip-106-working-with-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":2},"title":"Bb Tip #106: Working with Groups","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Online groups can enrich class discussion and provide a virtual environment for sharing information. The Groups tool allows instructors to form virtual groups of students to support peer collaboration. Groups can be easily created one at a time or in sets. Groups can be designated as Self-Enroll (allows students to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blackboard Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blackboard Bits, Bytes, and Nibbles","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/blackboard\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17828,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-tip-289-working-with-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":3},"title":"Brightspace Tip #289: Working with Groups","author":"Janice Florent","date":"January 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Online groups can enrich class discussion and provide a virtual environment for sharing information. You can use groups to organize users\u2019 work on projects and assignments, or you can create special work areas for users with different learning needs. The Groups tool allows instructors to form virtual groups of students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brightspace Small Plates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace Small Plates","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"gears","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.pixabay.com\/photo\/2017\/03\/07\/20\/51\/cog-wheels-2125178_960_720.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13335,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-tip-86-working-with-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":4},"title":"Brightspace Tip #86: Working with Groups","author":"Janice Florent","date":"March 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Online groups can enrich class discussion and provide a virtual environment for sharing information. You can use groups to organize users\u2019 work on projects and assignments, or you can create special work areas for users with different learning needs. The Groups tool allows instructors to form virtual groups of students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brightspace Small Plates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace Small Plates","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"gears silhouette teamwork","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/gears-812133_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21646,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-tip-535-working-with-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":6682,"position":5},"title":"Brightspace Tip #535: Working with Groups","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Online groups can enrich class discussion and provide a virtual environment for sharing information. You can use groups to organize users\u2019 work on projects and assignments, or you can create special work areas for users with different learning needs. The Groups tool allows instructors to form virtual groups of students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Brightspace Small Plates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace Small Plates","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A cluster of metallic gears interlocked on a shiny surface, showcasing intricate mechanical design and engineering.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cluster-of-gears.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6682"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18459,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6682\/revisions\/18459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}