Time management was also identified as a skill that helped some participants
succeed on the project. A few noted that procrastination would doom the project to
failure. Many participants stated that they have good communication skills, which
they relied on to persevere through the project. In this case, “communication skills”
refers to the quality of what participants write and say as opposed to the frequency and
speed of communication. Several participants mentioned skills with writing formal
reports and “good writing skills” as keys to their team’s success.
Personal attributes that helped the students succeed that participants noted were
patience, adaptability, and persistence. In particular, patience was mentioned by
a number of participants, noting that waiting for remote team members to
communicate or post on the project web site was not easy, yet it was a very real part of
the virtual communication. Many participants are accustomed to nearly instantaneous
communication via text messaging. In this project, the use of e-mail, wikis, and Zoho
forums frustrated the less patient. Learning to wait took them out of their comfort zone
and forced them to sit patiently until team members corresponded.
Overall, participants reported that the collaboration experience was a rich, real-world
situation that taught them many things. At times painful, participants got a glimpse
of what it may be like when they leave the safety and comfort of university and enter
the world of professional careers. Having the chance to experiment with virtual
collaboration when the stakes were quite low should prepare the participants for a similar
environment where the stakes are likely higher.