Do you wanna build a website?

• Ahhhh, the dreaded assignment post, “You will work in teams of 2-4 students. This first phase is important because you will determine and analyze your target audience and the goals of your website.” When I usually assign a group project as an educator, my goal is to get students to collaborate. As a learner, I immediately try to scope out who might be an ideal partner and who is going to skate by trying to do the least work possible. Luckily, I think this assignment is going to be beneficial for a few reasons. The first reason it’s a beneficial assignment is, that in order to be successful as an instructional designer, (which I’m striving for) we need to be able to establish positive interpersonal relationships with our team members. I intentionally choose a group of individuals I was not familiar with in order to get to know some of my classmates I’m not familiar with. If you plan on being an Instructional Designer, getting to know your team and your clients is one of the first steps. If you cannot do this on a regular basis, this position might not be for you. Throwing us into a situation where we are immediately working with others gives us the practice to work out all of those kinks BEFORE we step into the professional world. A safety net for mistakes if you will. The next reason I believe this is a beneficial project is that those of us in this course are not all in the same degree-seeking field. We are all graduate students, but we are not in the same degree-seeking field. With that differentiation, we all have different life experiences to pull from that will benefit our team. In the “real world” this will also be the case. When I roll up my sleeves and begin designing instruction, I will be working with others who are not instructional designers. I will need to use their expertise and life experiences in order to gain an understanding of what is needed and required in order to be successful, and for them in turn to be successful. Finally, who doesn’t love a good group project? If you are able to share the responsibility of a major project with others, it’s a win-win situation! So while group assignments and projects can be stressful, walk in with an open mind and be nice! You never know, the amazing people you are interacting with could be your next friend, employer, or employee!