Week 5 of 550

• My experience with online communities has been a few, but not all. I have had a MySpace in the past. I currently have a Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and many other little things that I do not use as much as these three. I have always enjoyed them, but I can see how they have created new socialization issues. (For example, “On Facebook you...” or “ I saw on Facbook that...”)
• I believe the biggest benefit of collaborative groups is being able to share your ideas, expand your knowledge, and work with someone else. Working with someone else or in a group helps to enhance the ideas and outcome of the project. One student may have only one idea. However, when you are in a group, you can combine and enhance one idea into a creative bigger one. Students who do not feel isolated seem to enjoy working on things more and have better ideas
• I believe the greatest challenge is/would be to lean how to compromise and work together. For example, all students will come to a group with ideas, but not all of them are going to be used. A student needs to learn to compromise. Also, all students need to learn to do part of the work. Working together does not mean that one person gets a free ride.
• My thoughts regarding the social development and socialization issues are that it is extremely important to interact with one another. We need to learn how to live and work with people that we like and that we do not like. There will always be someone in the world that you may not agree with. It is important to know how to work with them and be successful so that all are happy. Like I said earlier, I can see how social media has created new socialization issues. (For example, “On Facebook you...” or “ I saw on Facbook that...”). I know that many of my friends are victims of saying these things to me.