Collaboration Exercise 2

Adam Coleman Instructor

CTEC 205


Presented by:
Daniel Belza
Kristie Linn
Scott Hanna
Sierra McClellan
Zac Russell

TEAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMMUNICATION PROCESS
DISCUSSION BOARD PROCESS

3
3

NEW DISCUSSION

REPLY TO A DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION BOARD PROCEDURE

ANNOUNCEMENT PROCESS

NEW ANNOUNCEMENT
REPLY TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT PROCEDURE
PAGES PROCESS

4
4
4
4

5
5
6
6

PAGES PROCEDURES

6
7

COLLABORATION PROCESS

NEW COLLABORATION
ACCESS EXISTING COLLABORATION
COLLABORATION PROCEDURES

7
8
8
8

CONFERENCE PROCESS

NEW CONFERENCE
CONFERENCE PROCEDURES

8
9

CONTENT-SHARING PROCESS

10

GOOGLE DRIVE
CANVAS: FILES
EMAILS

10
10
10

TASK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

11

TASK MANAGER PROCESS

ADD NEW TASK
COMPLETE TASK
TASK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE

11
12
12
13

COLLABORATION

14

WHAT IS COLLABORATION
EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER
INEFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER
ARE YOU COLLABORATING WELL
COLLABORATION INFORMATION SYSTEMS
LIKES AND DISLLIKES

14
14
15
16
16
17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

18

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COMMUNICATION PROCESS
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

High Level Activities

Canvas
Discussions
Announcements
Pages
Collaborations
Low Level Activities
Canvas
Conferences
Emails

PROCESSES


DISCUSSION BOARD PROCESS

1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen
a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Discussions along the left sidebar.

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Once you are in the Discussion Board, you are able to add new discussions or
reply to existing ones.

New Discussion

1. Click on Add Discussion at the top right of the screen
2. Add your Topic Title.
3. Write your discussion
a. Easy to read
b. Extends content to allow for feedback
c. Includes all details
4. Select Allow Threaded Replies under options at the bottom of screen
5. Click on Save at the bottom of the screen

Reply to a Discussion

1. Follow the same steps to access the discussion page
2. Click on title of discussion that you would like to reply to
3. Click on Reply
a. At the bottom of initial post
b. At the bottom of replied post

Discussion Board Procedure

Used in lieu of email
Place to ask questions and express concerns
IF you are not getting a reply:
After 2 days:
Submit an email through Canvas
Title the email No response to Discussion (include
discussion date)
State your concern
Give a reasonable deadline to respond to discussion
Last resort cc instructor on email




ANNOUNCEMENT PROCESS

1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen

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a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Announcements along the left sidebar.

Once you are in the Announcements Board, you are able to add new
announcements or reply to existing ones.


New Announcement

1. Click on Add Announcement at the top right of the screen
2. Add your Topic Title.
3. Write your announcement
a. Easy to read
b. Extends content to allow for feedback
c. Includes all details
4. Click on Save at the bottom of the screen

Reply to an Announcement

1. Follow the same steps to access the announcement page
2. Click on title of announcement that you would like to reply to
3. Click on Reply
a. At the bottom of initial post
b. At the bottom of replied post

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ANNOUNCEMENT PROCEDURE

Used in to highlight important information or event
Place to announce completion of a team-wide task (see Task Management
Procedures)


PAGES PROCESS

1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen
a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Pages along the left sidebar.

Once you are in the Pages Link, you are able to add new tasks or edit existing
ones.

PAGES PROCEDURE

See Task Management

(Completing Task that is assigned to EVERYONE)

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COLLABORATION PROCESS
1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen
a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Collaboration along the left sidebar.

Once you are in the Collaborations Link, you are able to add new or work on
existing collaborations.

New Collaboration
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click on Start a New Collaboration at the top right of the screen

The Collaborate Using: will already be filled in with Google Docs
Add the Document Name.
Type in the description of the document, the involvement of the team,
and the outcome of the collaboration.
5. Select the members to be included by clicking on their names
6. Click on Start Collaborating at the bottom of the screen

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Access Existing Collaboration

1. Select collaborations in the list of Current Collaborations on the main
Collaborations screen.
a. This will direct you to a previously developed collaboration

COLLABORATION PROCEDURE

Used as a way for all team members to work on a document at the same time

CONFERENCE PROCESS

1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen
a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Conferences along the left sidebar.

Once you are in the Conferences Link, you are able to add new conferences


New Conference

1. Click on Add Conference at the top right of the screen
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Add the Conference Topic Title.

Select Duration
Select Enable Recording for this Conference
Select No Time Limit
Write a brief explanation of the conference
a. Date and Time of Discussion
b. Agenda of what will be discussed
c. Prepare a list of questions (as needed)
7. Select Invite All Course Members
8. Click on Save at the bottom of the screen

CONFERENCE PROCEDURES:

Enables a time for all or a selected number of team members to discuss
topics or concerns at the same time

No procedures set will be used as needed.

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CONTENT-SHARING PROCESS
LEVELS OF CONTENT-SHARING

High Level Activities

Google Drive
Low Level Activities
Canvas
Files
Emails

PROCESSES

GOOGLE DRIVE

1. Open Google Drive
2. Click on the MIS Folder
3. Right-click somewhere on the folders section of the screen
a. Select Upload Files
b. Select document that you would like to upload
c. Click the Choose button at the bottom of the screen
4. Once document is uploaded, add an Announcement to Canvas
a. (See How to Add Announcement procedure under
Communications Procedures)


CANVAS: FILES

This area will not be utilized at this time due to low file size upload
capabilities of Canvas.



EMAILS

File sharing through emails will be used in the case of Google Drive having
technical difficulties or out of service.

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TASK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

LEVELS OF MANAGING TASKS

High Level Activities

Form team schedule
Set-up communication method
Set-up content-sharing method
Set-up task management method
Write process methods
Answer Collaboration Exercise 2 Questions
What is collaboration?
What characteristics make for an effective team member?
What would you do with an ineffective team member?
How do you know if you are collaborating well?
Briefly describe the components of your new collaboration IS.
Describe what your team likes and doesnt like about using
your new collaboration system.
Low Level Activities
Schedule meeting times
Upload documents to Google Drive
Daily discussion board

PROCESSES

TASK MANAGEMENT PROCESS

1. Open Canvas
2. Click on Courses & Groups at the top of the screen
a. Select Team 1 located under Current Group

b. Select Pages along the left sidebar.

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c. Select Page Title Task Manager

Add New Tasks

1. Click on Task Manager
2. Click on Edit at the top right of the page
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the table
a. Add the task
b. Who the task is assigned to
i. Task is assigned to all members of the team?
1. Write EVERYONE in the Assigned To: cell
c. Set Due Date
i. Add task and due date to calendar (See Calendar
Procedures)
d. Click on Save at the bottom of the screen

Complete Tasks

1. Click on Task Manager
2. Click on Edit at the top right of the page
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3. Scroll down to complete task

a. Write your name in the Completed By: cell next to the
completed task
b. Enter date in the Date cell next to the completed task
i. If you are completing a task that was assigned to all
members of the team
1. Write your FIRST INITIAL in the Completed by:
cell
2. Add a note to the Announcement tab along the
left sidebar (See How to Add Announcement
procedure)
a. To be included in Announcement
i. Title the Announcement
1. (Insert task name)
Complete
ii. Briefly describe task completed
iii. Include location of the completed
task (ie. Document Location)
iv. Date that task was completed
c. Click on Save at the bottom of the screen


TASK MANAGEMENT PROCEDURE

The Task Manager page is a place to add daily and weekly to-do lists.





















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COLLABORATION

WHAT IS COLLABORATION?
Collaboration, according to the Merriam-Websters dictionary, is to work together
with another person or group in order to achieve or do something. According to the
textbook, collaboration is working with a group of people to achieve a common goal
via a process of feedback and iteration.(Kroenke). This may not be in real-time or
simultaneously, but as a way to have individuals work together and communicate
with each other to complete a task or project as a team. To do this, as a team you
will have to figure out why you are together and what your goals are, define team
member roles, establish how you will keep communication flowing, be able to
address conflict immediately, be an active listener, and encourage interactions from
others. (Forbes).

Everyone at some point in his or her life has needed to work with someone else in order
to complete something. Part of being human is having both strengths and weaknesses.
No one person can specialize in everything, and therefore, to be truly efficient and
successful, we must learn to lean on and rely on others to fill the gaps of each personal
expertise in the team. By acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses, an effective
team is one that works together to achieve these common goals, while maximizing
individual strengths and minimizing individual weakness. Its accomplished through
identifying whose most experiences at what and capitalizing upon that.



EFFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER

Good characteristics of an effective team member is someone who is excited or
enthusiastic about the project or subject, someone who listens well and
communicates constructively, who is active in the project, and who is reliable. Most
importantly, an effective team member is someone who can give and receive critical
feedback, while effectively utilizing all information given in order to better the team.
By constructively criticizing and appropriately reacting, a group can maximize potential
and achieve more than they could alone.

Of course, the mentality of the group members, and the effort in which they put forth, is
also a valuable part of being a successful group member. Each member of the team has
an intrinsic motivation to be the best at their assigned roles while maintaining a high-
minded approach to the team. In other words, its the ability to turn criticism and
feedback, as well as potentially negative situations, into positives. A positive attitude

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during the most stressful and difficult of situations is an understated necessity of being
an effective team member.
By being familiar with the characteristics for an effective team member in Figure 2-1 and
utilizing the guidelines for giving and receiving critical feedback Figure 2-2 of the
textbook, allows a team to work constructively and efficiently. Having the
characteristics stated in Figure 2-1 keeps the group/team on pace, flowing smoothly to
achieve the common team goal. The guidelines in Figure 2-2 offer the team a positive
discussion atmosphere, without individual domination and emotional breakdowns,
while allowing each individual to share their ideas effortlessly.

As a team, Team 1 agrees with each of these characteristics with only two possible
additions: the ability to be high-minded and to not take things personally. The only
changes that have been noted are to move up willing to enter into difficult situations,
is known for following through on commitments, and is self-managing and requires
low maintenance. There is also the thought to put speaks his or her min even if its
an unpopular viewpoint with is willing to put forward unpopular views.

As stated previously, the main conclusion from the textbooks survey is having the ability
to turn criticism and feedback, along with potentially negative situations, into positives.
By having the understanding of what effective team member characteristics are and the
guidelines of giving and receiving critical feedback, a group can effectively implement
them and encourage all team members to the same, allowing for a successful
atmosphere.



INEFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER

Not every team is going to be comprised of nothing but effective team members.
Occasionally, teams need to deal with members that are ineffective. Team members can
be ineffective for many different reasons. Whether its a lack of communication,
unavailability, a lack of motivation, an inability to cooperate, or a poor attitude, an
ineffective team member can be a cancer in the group. In order to deal with an
ineffective team member, the issue needs to be diagnosed. The easiest way to do this is
by taking said teammate to the side and giving them effective criticism. By bringing light
to the inefficiency that they are causing within the team and addressing specifically the
way in which they are causing it, it should help identify the underlying cause behind the
behavior. The way that the individual responds will help narrow down what is going on.
If they react poorly to the criticism, then it may be either their attitude or simply their
inability to take feedback. If they react appropriately, they will more than likely begin to
understand the significance of their behavior and the teams concerns. At this point,
finding a solution to the issue should be fairly easy once the team lays out expectations.
If the issue is attitude, address what a poor attitude does to the team. If its
communication, lay out a structured communication schedule that works for everyone.
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If its unavailability, establish what each persons schedule is like and look for possible
overlaps. As a group, it is important to allow for potential corrective action to be taken
by the ineffective team member. If the problem still persists and the individual refuses
to cooperate, then exclusion from the group is the only possible step.

ARE YOU COLLABORATING WELL?
In order to know whether or not you are truly being an effective communicator, you
must simply look at the results. An ineffective team is going to receive lagging results,
while an efficient team will beat their set benchmark. If results are not as expected,
then it needs to be looked at inwardly within the team and within each individual to see
if each person is working as effectively and efficiently as they can. Is each member
keeping a positive attitude? Is there constructive communication? Is everyone asking for
help when needed? A great method to answering these questions is to simply ask each
member of the group these same questions, along with what kind of team member they
feel they are being.

Its known that most people feel that they can do a project/task better on their own;
however, having a team that operates well together can be just as successful. Strong
indications of collaborative success include advancement in the task at an expected or
greater than expected rate, having growth both as an individual and as a team. Constant
communication with team members, feeling comfortable enough to speak freely when
you see something that could be improved, as well as not getting upset or defensive
when a suggestion is brought to your attention are also pungent indicators.

It is noted in the textbook that there are four primary purposes of collaboration: being
informed, making decisions, solving problems, and managing projects.(Kroenke). If the
team is successfully meeting these four requirements as a team, then it may be that
strong indicator that you are collaborating well.



COLLABORATING INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Team 1 primarily used the features on Canvas as their information system, along with
utilizing Google Drive. The components, as noted at the beginning of this document,
include: Canvas - Discussion Board, Announcements, Pages, Files, Collaboration, and
Calendar, Google Drive Shared file storing system, and Email.

Each section of this information system has a specific purpose. The main sections,
Discussion and Announcements, were established to allow for each team member to
keep in contact and announce new tasks, ideas, and meeting times. The Page section
was used to manage tasks. The Files section was originally used to share
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documents, but it was later moved to Google Drive, as it was and easier way to
manager the teams documents. Along with being easier to manage, Google Drive
was a location to save documents that were designed through the Collaboration area
of Canvas. Emails were used as a last resort for communication.



LIKES AND DISLIKES

There were things that worked in our collaboration IS; however, as in any system,
there were areas in need of improvement. The consensus from the group is that
Canvas is user friendly and there was much ease in posting discussion,
announcements, and even collaborating. The main concern in this was that it was
difficult to always keep track of these notifications or allow customizing to how they
were posted. If someone had to change their schedule with short notice, there
wasnt an easy way to notify the group. The only way to make priority postings was
to send out an email.


In conclusion, Team 1 worked as well as any other newly introduced team would
expect. There were many ups and downs, much strength and weaknesses being
discovered, and an insightful experience learned by all. There were areas that, as a
team, could definitely be used as a platform in future growth, along with areas that
could potential use some modifications. The information system that was utilized
had much strength in ease and familiarity, but like any system, could use some fine-
tuning. In the end, Team 1 found a way to come together as a team and
constructively achieve that common goal; Collaboration Exercise 2.



















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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kroenke, David M., and Randall Boyle. Using MIS. Eighth ed. Print.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
< http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collaborate>

Newlands, Murray. How to Develop a Team That Collaborates Effectively. Forbes.
Forbes Magazine, 15 June 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
< http://www.forbes.com/sites/mnewlands/2015/06/04/how-to-develop-
a-team-that-collaborates-effectively/>

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