Pre-Planning Collaborative Partnerships

The following blog is a cautionary tale based on personal experience...

We always talk about planning ahead of time for video conferencing. Preparation is key to any successful IVC. When doing collaborative video conference projects, setting the stage before planning is extremely important...

It's great to establish an agenda and materials, but even before that, you need to think about and discuss the expectations of everyone who is taking part in the collaboration.

There are several things that I learned the hard way recently, and I would like to share what I learned with you so your collaborations go smoothly. Ask yourself and your collaborative partners the following questions:

1. Find out the teaching styles of the people with whom you plan to collaborate.

Are they "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" people who love to play with the agenda and rearrange it throughout the entire collaborative process? Some people might prefer to plan things out in advance, and change at the last minute might be difficult for them. It is best to find this out before you collaborate because if you fall into one group and your partners are in the other and you haven't discussed it, you could be setting yourself up for a bumpy road.

2. Will there be a lead facilitator, or will planning be a fluid process that can change throughout the collaboration?

This is an important question, and relates to the previous question. If there are 3 or more facilitators in a group, make sure you know if they prefer structure, or if they prefer a looser way of preparing the connection. If you opt for a lead facilitator, what will his or her role be? Be specific so nothing is left ambiguous.

I admit that change up to and including the date of a collaborative effort makes me feel scattered, so I prefer to have the agenda set and to try to stick to it. There is no one right way to plan, but finding out everyone's comfort zone in advance and respecting that can help save headaches in the end.

3. How will you communicate throughout the collaboration?

When people send emails to the group, what is a reasonable amount of time to expect a response? Set goals for responding to emails from your collaborative group in a reasonable amount of time. Never leave your group waiting. If you can't respond thoughtfully right away, at least send a message telling everyone you're busy and when you might be able to attend to the question or concern. When people are left to wait for a response, it sends another kind of message, whether intentional or not, that this collaboration isn't important.

For multi-day collaborative IVC projects or trainings, set aside enough time to meet synchronously about the project. Meet by video conference, Skype or Google Chat, at least 3 times throughout the process to keep the project on track. If you have committed to participating, make sure you attend the synchronous planning meetings, or make arrangements to catch up with one of the other facilitators to find out what you missed.

If you want a structured agenda for your connection, decide on a date when the agenda and materials will be completed so copies can be made and facilitators can prepare for their parts.

During the video conference, if it becomes evident that the agenda needs to be changed, how will you approach this? It is best to discuss this behind the scenes, if possible. You could use a chat tool, such as Google Chat. If you must do this on camera, it would be best to wait for a break, so participants or students aren't left wondering why you didn't figure out the agenda beforehand.

Perhaps you have a good question and someone is talking during the video conference. Do you jump in? Again, if you ask people how they feel about something like this beforehand, it will show how considerate you are! It is best to wait until the person is done talking. Write down your question and ask it when there is a pause.

4. Who will be responsible for creating materials?

How will you share the responsibility for making materials? Be careful here because the communication piece is key. Changes to the agenda can mean that there could be changes to the handouts and other materials. This can create more work for people, so think before you change anything. Getting a consensus on change is a good thing.

Decide as a group if you will use online resources to keep things organized, or will you use paper and pencil because your participants won't have access to a computer?

5. Schedule out time to work on the collaboration.

This one is not a question because this should be done by everyone. Everyone is so busy! Schedule out time to work on projects on your calendar. Better yet, use a Google Doc or Google Calendar for all facilitators to keep track of dates to work synchronously and asynchronously on the collaboration. Then share it so you can see if someone is working on it at the same time you are so you could work through some of it together.

If you plan out specific dates and times to work on the project, you won't give the time away to other projects once your calendar starts filling up.

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I want your collaborative projects to be positive experiences for you! Collaborations are a delicate balance of compromise, communication, consideration for others, and commitment.

What else should people think about when planning a collaborative project? I would like to hear your thoughts!