2013 TKR: Stech: Working together apart, virtual worlds, social media

Working together apart, 
virtual worlds and social media
Self-help--Thinkerer

-

-

• Group-managed projects in Second Life
• Self managed teams
• Social media technologies  for distance collaboration
• Problem-solving tools for small groups
• Steering committee
• Special Working Groups (SWGs) 

-
Group managed projects
-

Self managed teams

The main idea of the self-managed team is that the leader does not operate with positional authority. In a traditional management role, the manager is responsible for providing instruction, conducting communication, developing plans, giving orders, and disciplining and rewarding employees, and making decisions by virtue of his or her position. In this organisational model, the manager delegates specific responsibility and decision-making authority to the team itself, in the hope that the group will make better decisions than any individual. Neither a manager nor the team leader make independent decisions in the delegated responsibility area. Decisions are typically made by consensus in successful self-managed teams, by voting in very large or formal teams, and by hectoring and bullying in unsuccessful teams. The team as a whole is accountable for the outcome of its decisions and actions.

Organization for a task-oriented group
-
Steering committee 

• Objective: Coordinate plans, allocate resources,  organize collaboration.
• Participants: Ideally at least one person from each SWG. 
• Creates action items and SWG.
• Gets reports from SWGs.
• May receive written or recorded reports from SWGs. 
• Coordinates SWG efforts,
• Meetings:  Synchronous meetings in a virtual world.
• Other communication:  See below: Social media communication

Special Working Group (SWG) 

• Objective: Coordinate plans, allocate resources,  organize collaboration.
• Participants: Ideally at least one person from each SWG. 
• Executes an action item from the steering committee.
• Sends progress reports to the steering committee. 
• Meetings:   See below: Social media communication
• Other communication:  See below: Social media communication

-

Social media technologies

(1)  MySL (My top recommendation)

• Can be accessed inworld (profile) 
• Can be accessed via browser:  https://my.secondlife.com/
• A lead comment can host a thread, with all comments together
• All the comments remain public and available for review
• Conversation can be synchronous for the people who are currently connected
• SL names will be used
• Conversation can be reviewed later and extended by asynchronous comments
• Posts are available for monitoring and comment by other people
• No Linden assistance is needed for initial use. 
• The thread leader may need to gather and organize the comments into a report.
•  MySL versus IMs and notecards for private messages 

(2) A facebook group for each SWG

• Posting works as with MySL
• May be useful for promotion.
• But people may have to use RL name 

(3) Google plus circles and hangouts 

• Will allow voice conversations
• Posting works as with MySL
• May be useful for promotion.
• But people may have to use RL name 

(4) Blog

• Posting can work with threads and comments kept together.
• Google search is available if the blog is made public
• Provides public visibility if the blog is made public
• Can invite  public comment

Shared whiteboard, annotated screen shots

• Flockdraw. Paint and draw in real time.
• Jing

Vocabulary

• Meeting Agenda.  TODO list for the meeting. 
• Personal agenda.   Goals of a particular person for the meeting 
• Group roles.   Type of actions that regularly appear in task oriented meetings
• Group Maintenance Roles.  Types of actions that regularly foster cooperation in a group
• Group Task Roles.  Types of actions that regularly foster progress on the task of a group
• Group Leadership Roles: Types of actions related to organizing and managing the group operations.
• Facilitator.  Person responsible for encouraging the group to take actions known to foster  effective functioning.
• Action Items.  Concrete actions to be done by a specific person
• Action item, accepted.  A concrete task accepted as a responsibility by a specific person.
• Brainstorming.   A technique for generating ideas in a small group.
• Planning: Develop list of concrete actions needed to reach the project goal.
• Evaluate plans: Assess the benefits, costs, and prospects of alternative plans
• Special Working Group (SWG):  Ad hoc group taking a single action item.
• Delegate: Turn over a task or group role to a specific person or SWG 

***

Essential group maintenance roles

• Time Keeper: Watches the time, reminds the group of time limitations.
• Recorder:  Keeps and distributes records of group decisions.

*****

• What do we do in Virtual Worlds? 
• Search on page with Google Chrome: Ctrl+f, search bar upper right 
• Google search this blog, column on right
• or put site:virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com at the end of the search terms
• What is Second Life?
• Annotated screen shots made with Jing
• Creative Commons License, attribution only.
• Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.
• This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.  
• Ads are  from Google

-

• Drop by my place in Second life
• Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
• http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/136/100/22
• Feel free to send me an IM, notecard, or friend request.
• Thinkerer Melville/Selby Evans