Tools for good collaboration, tools for success as an online student

I recently watched a video of a presentation given by Dr. Haycock, the former director of SJSU's SLIS. I really like the part of the video where he points out that group work is valued for its collaboration but not for its conflict, the latter of which is as inherent to the process as the former. In my experience with group work, I am usually afraid of conflict--I want the energy to be positive and for there to be no ill will between group members. I am also afraid of being disliked. However, I think that, with the establishing of ground rules and consistently enforcing those ground rules, it is better to call out discrepancies or disrespectful behavior, which will lead to productivity and efficiency. This appeals to my sense of justice and equality, as well as my tendency to be opinionated. I also really liked his advice on what I would call nonviolent communication, with the communication formula going like this: When you... I feel... Would you consider... By combining the attitude that conflict is normal and can be productive with the tool for communicating effectively, I think group work will be much more tolerable--and even generative!--that I had expected it to be.

Haycock's speech on group/team/committee work was very informative
and should be required watching for all library staff people.
Click here to watch it yourself. 

My plan to be a successful online student is a combination of time management and schedule. I intend to check D2L on a daily basis and to limit how much time I can spend on any given unit or concept. I have anxious tendencies in my personalty, which in this case may be beneficial: if I let myself go a whole weekend without logging into D2L, I get antsy and nervous. Might as well eliminate that problem by sticking with my schedule of checking D2L everyday. On the other hand, I can be obsessive about being thorough and gathering information. For example, even if I am really into creating my blog for this course, I need to put a limit on how much time and energy I spend on designing the interface, creating the name, specializing it with widgets, perfecting the voice of my first post, etc...