Communication is 7% what you say, 38% how you say it and 55% body language. As a new student, that is going to work in a team environment and interact with different people, the first question that comes to my mind is: how do I deal with this amazing fact and make it an advantage instead of a disadvantage in the cyber world whereon body language is involved? The best way to do this is understanding and respecting how people behave and learn, as well as understanding the obstacles that the online world brings to the table. This is achieved by recognizing, and respecting the individual and group members’ Personalities and Learning styles, making everybody feel comfortable and listening while promoting balance and cooperation within the group.
My Personality style, Organizer, allows me to be responsible, be aware of details and be effective. When you mix this with the rest of styles like a Thinker- the one that analyzes and cross boundaries-, an Adventurer- the flexible, the problem solver and the one that keeps the discussion going- and a Giver- the honest, helper and the open to relationship- you got yourself a super team that complements each other, the best of everything. Now, the trick is taking advantage of it and been aware of the way everybody in your team operates or learns, so you can delegate easier and have an effective communication among them; even if you have the same learning style on a group you still have the others to balance the relationship. For example, an Organizer can help the Adventurer to organize their thoughts and plan for tomorrow; a Giver can help the Thinker to approach to others; the Adventurer can help the Organizer to be more flexible; and the Thinker can help the Giver to be more logical.
Also, something else that goes hand-in-hand with a team is the different learning styles that each member may have. Is about knowing how everybody learn so they do not get frustraided and hopeless....