Group G, what do you think about OUR work?

 

 

For a last minute addition to this project we thought that before other groups can give us their two cents about our work, we figured beating them to the punch by critiquing it ourselves -now! We have a unique and personal narrative to address these questions Ma'am Bonito herself laid out as the 

guidelines when commenting on others' blogs. 

 

What do you think about the blog, not only about the design, but also how well put together are the key concepts and applications?

How did the group finally managed to work effectively and collaboratively. 

 

 

One member had already withdrawn from the course and was bent on leaving the group without a trace. He was disappointed with the low and slow participation in the first Wiki-nursing theory activity and thought this was unfair and frustrating. Suddenly, an unexpected show of support started coming in for this member to lead the group in the second activity.  Without the assurance of even making it back to the course, this new leader assumed the role and set up small groups with leaders, tasks and deadlines.  The member was allowed to continue the course. Somehow, it was the pat on the back, kindred spirits and the yearning to not lose someone a connection is already starting to flourish that made the whole group appear to be far more pro-active than in the first.

 

With 2 weeks left for the deadline and a cloud of doubt somehow still looming over the head about the involvement of ALL group members, the leader did not want to waste time and jumpstarted by picking Travelbee's model for the blog for being the most promising of all the theories contributed by Group G in its Wiki activity - having excluded the theories already featured by a previous batch in their blogs to avoid duplication. The group was the first to announce having chosen a nursing theory for its blog by smartly adding Travelbee in the subject title in its discussion forum. The leader did this on purpose in order for the other groups to rule Travelbee's model out among their options. The leader thought that although facebook, twitter and the likes were good means to collaborate online, these can potentially be distracting too. The leader decided that all communications be thrown in only one discussion forum created at myportal Website so that nobody gets lost and also for the purpose of having a record of who is actively involved or lacking thereof. For a while there was a slow input from other members but this time the leader was not worried. The leader had already divided the group into topics with each group having a leader who participated very actively in the first activity. It was a back up plan for the worst. This increases the chances that the group can still produce the blog and make it to the deadline even if the number of contributors was down to a handful. A big leap came when ahead of the schedule, a member not only opened but set up the template for the blogsite.  It was such a great stimulus as much as it was like a nimbus (rain clouds) that sent shivers up their spines because nobody in the group had worked on this communication tool before - ever! But like what the genie in the movie Aladdin said, "It can be taught." Yes, it can be self-taught...there was a dire need! The leader with some foresight assumed that if getting all the inputs by itself takes time, then learning about the blogsite will nothing short of paralyze the pack if everyone should deal with it too. The leader not belonging to any group assignments, because it was arranged without himself being part of it, was a blessing in disguise. There was no need to disturb the original plan because the leader can concentrate on working on the blogsite to manage the contributions that were slowly piling up. Another pair of eyes came from the creator of the blogsite himself. In no time, all the works were in.

 

But something did not feel right to the leader. "Is this a blog?" - he asked himself. Merriam-Webster defined blog as a Web site on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities and experiences. The leader was reminded of the movie "Julie and Julia" where one 

character created a blog chronicling how she will complete the goal of cooking ALL of her idol's recipes. What the group had then was just a compilation of reading materials from internet sources that was put together. The "blogsite" was spruced up, animated reasonably enough just for it to come alive, even made it appropriately entertaining, and the team was reminded to keep the overall look clean and simple and the contents relevant, relatable and not overlapping. But that still does not make it a blog in the true sense of the word. It has got to be personal at least! With that movie on the leader's mind, he impressed upon the members that there should be a section where readers could at least feel like they were reading a diary or an anecdote. The group was up to the leader's task for a reflection on how past or most recent clinical experiences seemed to have fallen within the concepts that Travelbee stood by in her theory. The leader also reminded members to focus on their assigned topics should clarifications or questions come up when the time comes to present its blog to the class. A concern was raised about how the blog would play out in the host country - the Philippines -where internet speed is a challenge. Will the animations work to the project's disadvantage? Should a different version be made - separately? A prompt, reassuring reply from a member based in the Philippines dispelled the hunch. Indeed, one less thing to hurdle!

 

With the limitations not strange to all the other groups like juggling work sched, a heck of reading assignments, pending courseworks, time for rest and relaxation, and the likes, Group G was able to work effectively and collaboratively on this project. From within the group, the leader was respected, members were cordial, light and properly bubbly, efforts were praised, questions were answered, creative ideas and suggestions were considered, owning up to shortcomings were acknowledged and promises to make up for them were not broken. With the number of replies to the group's discussion thread numbering at least 100, no nonsense to any one of them, nothing else can be asked of Group G for this project!