Module-2

My blog this module is concerned with the topic of collaborative interaction. My definition is: people working together in business or education glocally to problem solve or for project unification. Simply put, people working to find solutions. With this definition in mind tools available to business and schools include: Skype, Microsoft Project, PeopleSoft, enc.com, and Google. All offer a plethora of what is deemed CPMT, or Collaborative Project Management Tools. In education, the Internet, Blackboard, and eCollege are used. I have had the pleasure of facilitating collaboration with Microsoft Project, PeopleSoft and Skype and believe these have been major enhancements in collaboration. In education, the use of Skype, the Internet, and Blackboard have allowed me to learn, discover, and communicate and collaborate extensively in methods which we not available to me in previous decades. Dr. Siemens (2010) with regard to education and corporate pulse in his vodcast discusses how distance education principles are being applied in corporate environments. So, in most respects I agree with the vodcast from Walden University assigned for module 2. We live in a glocal environment which is made closer through the use of collaboration tools, such as the internet.

We are all asked for some form of quantitative measure. Last week I blasted an esteemed professor for lack of measure, for if we are all accountable by some measure, we need quantifiability as part of the work assessment. So what is my point? I just fell in love with Evan Rosen; I have no idea who this gentleman is but I agree with his blog on collaboration. In short, if we cannot collaborate in the same room we will not collaborate in a distance scenario. Tools will not make us collaborate. It takes more than tools to engage people in a collaborative effort. Rosen does not give answers on his blog due to the fact he wants you to buy his book, and I just might.

One more blogger, Ann All, posted the same basic aforementioned response; technology is not going to bring about collaboration if people are not interested. There has to be intrinsic motivation. Having what All describes as a “cool factor” is not enough. People have to be motivated, be vested in the outcome, there needs to be interest and, in the end excitement has to be generated before collaboration and all the cool technologies will be of use. So this week I learned just because you have a set of tools and people to work on a problem does not mean engagement and collaboration will be automatically in place when it comes time to work on a project. Of course this is not all new, but it was shed in a different light.

References:

All, A. (2010, June, 27). It's the culture, stupid! [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/all/enterprise-collaboration-its-the-culture-stupid/?cs=41708

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). The future of distance education featuring Dr. George Siemens. United States: Walden University. Podcast retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4199707&Survey=1&47=

Rosen, E. (2010, June, 27). The much-maligned meeting and collaboration. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://collaborationblog.typepad.com/