Responding to Debs

After reading Debs, it was hard not to immediately focus my journey in writing in a small group cmm class I had two summers ago. Four people, one team. In the beginning our small group knew that one team member needed this course to graduate and was off on a cruise one week shy of finishing the course. What one team member received for a grade, we all received so it did end up that one person chose to have all input mailed to her, in finished form, to make all font, etc. look alike and for basic spelling errors. The other chose to do the footwork, take pictre and make the powerpoint presentation. The other two showed up in class for the presentation and was handed a script of what they were to say. This is small group work in a classroom, I do not think it would fly in the workplace. In Debs, Bosley defines collaborative writing '"as two or more people working together to produce an end result.'" Yes, this is true, but that is where I agree strongly with Elizabeth Malone in having a group leader to change directions. When writing in a small group for the classroom, all names will go on the finished product. Did all members put in equal time, effort and research? No. Some are never finished and will change right up until it is time to deliver the finish product, others simply coat tail on the group. Allen et al offers three distinguishing features (1) production of a shared document; (2) substantive interaction among members; and (3) shared decision-making power over and responsibility for the document. Killingworth and Jones state that computer systems enhance collaboration in the production process rather than further isolate authors. I agree. In the small group setting poor conflict management, personality differences and unresolved emotional issues create havoc in finalizing the finished product equally. I am looking forward to reading what other members of this class have to say.