Virtual Collaboration Project Update
My virtual collaboration team have crossed another few items off the to-do list this week by deciding on a topic and devising a schedule for the coming weeks. We are in a research phase at present, investigating style guides, existing instructions, and usability tests.
Convergence
I was reminded of my virtual Team in a lecture this week, when the topic of the convergence of student types arose. Tait and Mills (1999) describe student archetypes of the conventional and non-conventional (distance learning) student. They describe the conventional student as being aged under 24, and most likely not working. Therefore, being a student is their primary role. The non-conventional student is the opposite of this description, i.e. over 24, and working as well as studying. Nobody on my virtual team seems to fit the conventional student archetype described by Tait and Mills (1999). The group fit in both the over 24 and under 24 categories, and study both on-campus and off-campus. Yet, the majority seem to work in some capacity. A younger member of the group particularly contradicts the archetype, as she is studying full-time for an undergraduate degree and working in the evenings when lectures are over. Most team members appear to be juggling work, family, and college life, and this brings its own challenge.
Unconventional Meetings for Non-Conventional Students
Due to the team’s range of commitments, it is nearly impossible to arrange a meeting time to suit all team members. This is not ideal because we will always be missing somebody for whom we may have a question, or who may have a valuable suggestion or solution to a problem.
To overcome this problem, we have set up channels on Slack about different topics. Usually, we need everyone’s input on a topic, but cannot arrange a whole-team meeting. Now, we put a deadline for when we have to have come to a consensus on this topic. For example, we have been trying to research and agree on a design template and style guide so that the writers can get started. We want everyone to be in agreement about this but due to work and family commitments, we cannot have a meeting to discuss it. Therefore, we set up a design/layout channel on the 6th of February. Everyone has agreed to check in each day with the channel to provide their own research, review the research of others and come to a consensus, by the 9th of February at 2pm.
We have started to call this process ‘informal meetings’ and they usually take place over two or three days. The obvious drawback is that the decision process takes much longer, but on the plus side, everyone is included and this process generally leads to a fully informed decision with which everyone is happy.
References:
Tait, A. and Mills, R. (1999) The Convergence of Distance and Conventional Education. London: Routledge.
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