Team working in distributed environments M253 Communicating, Cooperating & Collaborating on Line Faculty of Computer Studies Arab Open University Kuwait Branch 12/8/20151Kwuait Branch

COMMUNICATING 12/8/20152Kwuait Branch

COMMUNICATING The exchange of thoughts, messages, or the like, as by speech, signals or writing. To express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood.  If you can honestly achieve that goal, you are communicating. Communication is shared feelings / shared understanding. 12/8/20153Kwuait Branch

Methods of communication: Phone call, in-person. Memo, fax,e- , letter, voice mail. One Way: Two Way: 12/8/20154Kwuait Branch

Means of Collaboration & Cooperating 12/8/20155Kwuait Branch

What is Collaboration? Collaboration : Cooperative arrangement in which two or more parties (which may or may not have previous relationship) work together towards a common goal. Collaboration in higher education: discussion boards gain a higher knowledge of a topic from a diverse group of people. 12/8/20156Kwuait Branch

Electronic Collaboration Tools: Electronic Collaboration Tools: Forum Forum Wiki Instant messaging Instant messaging Video conferences Video conferences 12/8/20157Kwuait Branch

1.Forum is a place where people can start communication (in the form of threads) and reply to other people's threads. 2.Forums helps us in many different ways to support the team communication and develop collaboration. 3.Forum allows users to post questions or discussion topics and invite the respective community to react by reply to the original message. 12/8/20158Kwuait Branch

The term Wiki refers to a collaborative website that allows visitors to change or add contents and it is easy for anyone to contribute pages, and link them together. As simple to edit as it is to read, the wiki makes for the perfect online collaboration tool. Wiki 12/8/20159Kwuait Branch

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The most important characteristics: 1.If team member writes (a part of) a document and circulates it to the rest of the team. They may then get back multiple modifications to pull together into an updated version, which itself may then be re-circulated and re-modified more than once. 2.The way in which the wiki is implemented means that only one person can edit a section of a wiki page at any given moment in time – only asynchronous working is possible. The system will lock the section automatically and not allow anyone else to access it until the current editor has signed off and released that section of the page. 12/8/201511Kwuait Branch

The major drawbacks:  By using the History tab at the top of the page we can found who did, what, when, in each wiki page’s history, but it is not very easy to follow given the potentially large number of changes made to a page over time.  If you do not go back and save the work after previewing it, otherwise the system will just lose all your work, which can be very frustrating. 12/8/201512Kwuait Branch

Notes :  Only one person can edit a section of a wiki page at any given moment in time – only asynchronous working is possible.  The system will lock the section automatically and not allow anyone else to access it until the current editor has signed off and released that section of the page.  If you have any significant amount of text to add to a page, that you prepare your material offline and then cut-and-paste it into the wiki page in a single access, rather than staying online whilst you are thinking about what to add.  It easier to use the wiki comments facility for commenting on the actual contents of each wiki page more directly.  When you have added content to a wiki page, the system lets you preview what you have done before you save it permanently.  You can delete work entered by other people. 12/8/201513Kwuait Branch

Summary  Forum and Wiki let you and your team communicate collaborate online. They are easy, efficient, and intuitive to use.  Forums and Wikis can be used to facilitate various online activities. 12/8/201514Kwuait Branch

Forum/Wiki 12/8/201515Kwuait Branch

Instant messaging. Video conferences. Audio conferences. 12/8/201516Kwuait Branch

. There are two key points while using, other communication tools.  Firstly, a summary of what you discuss, agree, and create must be relayed back to the forum or wiki so that everyone in the team and your tutor, knows, or is able to find out, what is going on.  Secondly, if your team is going to take some responsibility for identifying additional modes of communication and collaboration that the team can use, you must obtain team agreement about the use of such a tool. 12/8/201517Kwuait Branch

Instant Messaging IM Is a form of real-time direct text-based communication between two or more people using Personal computer or other devices, along with shared software clients? The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet. 12/8/201518Kwuait Branch

Advanced Instant Messaging  Allow enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice or Video calling.  You can format your text, past in images.  In contrast meeting conducted by instant messaging are more flexible than face to face meetings.  You can accept or decline invitations to join discussions & people have the chance to leave discussion when they want. 12/8/201519Kwuait Branch

Disadvantages:  Is that instant messaging cannot do for you decisions making and write the minutes of the meeting.  Instant messaging is one way of initiating a discussion about draft of a document that team is working on 12/8/201520Kwuait Branch

Netiquette 1.Remember that you are talking to real people. 2.Try to keep your messages short. 3.Give your messages a descriptive Subject line. 4.Summarize messages when replying to them. 5.Check the sender before quoting from private . 6.Credit other people’s work. 7.Signal your emotions in messages. 8.Avoid writing all in CAPITALS. 9.Send your messages to the right place. 12/8/201521Kwuait Branch

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