Online learning due to COVID-19 has changed the way all of our classes are being conducted, but for COMM students, group projects may still be a requirement! Here is how my group in Social Media Strategies is still working together and getting things done while maintaining our social distance.
Group Calls
My group has made a schedule of when we will be on Skype calls to work on our projects together from the comfort of our own homes! UWGB students get Skype for Business for free through our Microsoft Office Suite. Just download Skype for Business, create a meeting on your Outlook calendar through Skype, and send the invite to your team! They can click on the link to join the meeting.
To download Skype for Business so, go to https://products.office.com/en-us/skype-for-business/download-app, click on “Download Skype for Business,” click on the language you want, and then it will let you know it is downloading. From there, follow your computer’s instructions. It will be different depending on if you have a Mac or a PC. Questions? The Help Desk is very knowledgeable on Microsoft applications. Give them a call at (920) 465-2309 if you need help.
Agendas
Agendas are even more important than they were before. Some people work with deadlines better knowing they will have to meet with their group in person; not getting work done means facing your group members face-to-face. It can be harder to accomplish things on time when you don’t have the stress and worry of letting your team down in-person. Make detailed agendas with what you want to get done first in today’s meeting, and then what you expect to be done for the next meeting. Here’s one example of the agenda my group uses:
Be Understanding
WIFI, family and health issues and so much more are bound to come up in a pandemic. Give yourself and your group members some slack when “things” happen. Within a week, one group member lost a family member, and my dog, Kozmo, also passed away. You can be a support system instead of an additional source of stress.
Proper Delegation of Tasks
Know when things need to be done together and when things can be designated. When you do decide to do work as individuals, make sure you spend some time together over a call to everyone is on the same page. If that isn’t possible, make sure what everyone did is in a shared Google Drive or Microsoft Office folder, and have details explaining what you did.
Regarding my Social Media Strategies team, I am very lucky to have had the chance to work with my group members through the COMM program. I have been in a group with Megan, Mariah and Jan for a year now. We have journeyed through Cases, Organizational Communication, Communication Law, and Social Media Strategies together. I am heartbroken we won’t have one last in-person meeting together.
I want to thank my team for the incredible memories and experiences we’ve shared together. Megan, Mariah and Jan: I want you to know you have had such a huge impact on my life. We are going to be facing challenges in the next month of school, but I know as individuals and as a team, we will succeed. UWGB and the COMM program brought us together, and like the COMM program and the University, we will come out of this experience stronger.
(From left to right: Megan Coenen, Emily Gerlikovski, Jan-Marie Matthysse, Mariah Lorfeld)
Story by Emily Gerlikovski
TYPO? Did you spot a typo or grammatical error in this story? Report it NOW to The Grammar Police so we can fix it before a potential employer – or one of our parents – sees it and busts us! Report it: HERE! Better yet, keep it to yourself, or at least six feet apart.
Nice tribute