The group wiki was an interesting way to collaborate on a
project. Most online group projects suffer from the same issue – the schedules
and availability of the different members have a substantial impact on the ability
of the group to interact. In an online course setting, it is almost impossible
to suggest or require that people participate during certain time frames beyond
the standard due dates per the course instructor.
I feel
our group was no exception to this rule. Though everyone participated and
contributed their part, there was little group back-and-forth type interaction.
The nature of the assignment meant that a complete assignment was possible
without real-time or near real-time interaction.
Due to
schedule and communication concerns, our group fell back on the old standard of
sending emails to the group members. It is difficult to discern whether the
emails were effective. In the case where certain details about availability and
special circumstances, it was a helpful tool to have available, even if it
defeated the purpose of using the group discussion boards, wiki and other
tools.
In a
perfect world, where everyone in the group has the time and availability to log
in and interact with the board once or more per day, these tools have a lot of
potential.