Well, it’s that time of year again…the end of the quarter is almost here, and if you haven’t already had to do a group project, this might be the week you have one. I’m pleasantly surprised to only have one group project out of my three classes, and this is the week we do it.
I’ve never been a fan of group projects anyway, but I have a special dislike for them after having an unfortunate history of group projects that always seem to go wrong, and it seems like no one else I’ve talked to likes them either. It seems like, especially with online group projects, there is always the member(s) who end up doing all the work while the other members do nothing. Sure, the lazy members usually get a lower grade, but it’s frustrating to get stuck doing all the work and all that happens to the other members is a lower grade (and no one knows how much lower!).
While I can understand why instructors do assign these projects, it doesn’t make it any less irritating to me when it comes time to do them. I do realize that many of us may encounter situations in our future careers where we will have to work with a team that is geographically widespread and that these projects now may help prepare us for that. However, the stakes are much different when your job depends on your performance than they are when it’s just for a class. I think maybe that’s why people don’t take these projects very seriously and other group members get stuck with all the work.
What’s your take on online group projects? Do you find them worthwhile? Or are they just a waste of time?