Academic Advising Virtual Team

A reflection on the skills acquired from collaborative learning and how they may be applied in practice

Virtual-based business have great benefits but can have downfalls as well. Even though it would seemingly cost less money, the headache in communication would weigh out the same. In a regular office, everyone is right there in the same building. Meetings held in person are more engaging and easier to understand. Even though there are many

I agree with Weaver et al. (2010) that the introduction of Wiki has opened up a new experience for off campus students studying online. I found that using the Wiki this semester provided me with the opportunity to strengthen my overall communication and leadership skill’s. Working collaboratively online suited my lifestyle by not having to stick to strict deadlines and allowing me to contribute to the assignment in my own time. Completing an online presentation using Prezi and Wiki allowed my ELA to see how much each individual contributed, which I felt encouraged other team members to contribute equally as a majority of it was assessed according to the individual’s contributions. In order to utilize this advantage I made sure that my contributions were noted on the Wiki to demonstrate that I was fully involved and committed to my group and this ensured that my hard work did not go unrecognised. Since I have started my course with Swinburne I have found the blackboard discussions to be extremely helpful and beneficial from social constructivism by feeding off one another’s ideas. I concur with the Chiong and Jovanovic (2012) observation that online

Then, teachers must reach goals using diverse methods and techniques which engage the student and make the learning process interesting. Though methods vary, a problem or task centered approach is generally considered superior to a subject matter approach. Students and professors may work together to co-create knowledge. Work in teams is an often used strategy because it replicates the experiences of nontraditional students in the workplace. Additionally, teachers work to reduce time and place restrictions for the nontraditional student that would limit that person’s access to course materials and assignments; asynchronous online options easily break down such barriers.

Distance Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling is a new wave of the future of counseling. VRC will be able to reach many client/consumers that are in rural areas. They would also be able to access patient information while out of the office and other counselors will be able to review this information as well if consultation is needed. This form of counseling once developed could be used in other areas. I can see this being schools especially those schools that have a large population of students but do not have any means of housing another counselor on campus. It seems

|collaboration with each instructor. Although this is was an online platform of learning, it |

As the new head of human resources, once I write the communication plan with my team it will give all of us an overview of what needs to be done throughout the course of the project of revamping the compensation and benefit packages. Doing this will help to provide a sense of control and order, and prevents the team from becoming overwhelmed with work from the project. As the new head of human resources, I would need to plan a way to have all team members working on the project to meet face-to-face for the first time to make sure everyone has a sense of whom they are speaking with and whom they will be working with during this project. I believe that virtual communication would be the best way to communicate with the team members, so that we are not taking a lot of time in the meeting room discussing ideas and possible changes within the project. This would be in the event that all teams members are not in the same office or not all team members can be available at the same time. During the communication progress, I will have to set up within the team a smaller team to work on the compensation side of the project and a smaller team to work on the

It is necessary to understand how virtual teams work, how team members get along and collaborate, and how tasks are distributed. In order to be effective, there must be accountability, even in the face of a lack of overall leadership and authority that seems to exist in virtual teams. Members must be self motivated, have access to he internet at all times. Digital media can help alleviate some of the problems and concerns that face virtual teams. Dial media can aid in communication, help members stay on task and motivated, and connect through social

Learning and collaborating online in an academic environment has been a multifaceted experience. Throughout a 12 week period I’ve been shown the tools to successfully explore the digital world. I’ve gained knowledge and experience in areas such as validating information and websites, working and collaborating online and advancements in technology, these being only a few to name. Learning and collaborating online has been a huge learning curve which has helped me gain a more in depth understanding of how I prefer to work online as well as within a team environment effectively shaping and changing the way I contribute to team projects.

Ebrahim, A., Shamsuddin, A. & Taha, Z. (2009). Virtual Teams: A Literature Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Science, 3(3), 2653-2669.

However, there are legitimate concerns about virtual teams. First and foremost is the commitment factor: people often feel less committed to individuals whom they have not met personally, face-to-face. Virtual teams must keep in regular contact through email, chatting, and ideally through some 'real time' video conferencing. The team leader should require daily or weekly contact between all team members. There should be requirements regarding deadlines in terms of how long members have to respond to messages.

There tends to be a discrepancy when generalizations are made that the advantages of virtual teams are far more than the disadvantages. Most researchers tend to concentrate on one side of the issue either positively or negatively hence a possibility of narrow and biased conclusions.

A team comprised of international components presents an interesting challenge in regards to management. Various problems can potentially arise in regards to organizing the team, developing rules that govern the team and assigning tasks. One method in which to mitigate all of the above mentioned rules is by setting performance standards for the entire team to adhere (Alexander, 2000). One such standard involves the use of a balanced scorecard. A balanced scorecard allows each individual irrespective of their position within the team to have a core set of standards in which to abide by. These standards will also include the job function and the roles of each member with the job function. The scorecard provides an ideal medium in which to judge performance as well. By viewing the scorecard management can easily pinpoint areas of opportunity and improvement (Blair 2010).

It also includes the delivery of content via Internet, intranet/extranet (LAN/WAN), audio- and videotape, satellite broadcast, podcast, interactive TV, CD-ROM, and more. E-learning programs are endowed with a training system, which employees can access, where face-to-face instruction is not possible because the very nature is that it is borderless and potentially global in scope. With e-learning methods, training can take place on-demand, and trainees can be given greater control over their learning than ever before (Rosenberg 2001). This increased control has the potential to improve training effectiveness. E-learning courses add value to traditional learning modes by offering self-paced or live, instructed training classes. Specifically, self-paced courses can be taken at the employee's leisure and are good for self-motivated persons. Typically these types of courses can be taken at convenience of the busy workers as well as for globally dispersed employees. Hence workplace training needs to be broadened and customized (Marc J. Rosenberg & Steven Foreman 2010). Live e-learning is capable of instant updating, storage/retrieval, distribution and sharing of instruction and information. Soft skills such as management, leadership, or team building can be tackled in this environment. However, this type of training works best if the class size is limited to 25

My vision of collaborative learning is a learning strategy that affords the students enormous opportunities and advantages not available through traditional learning processes. I believe that students in a collaborative team tend to attain