The third
topic in the course seemed very relevant at first.  It was relevant in the sense that I always
wanted to embark on such a journey but had no idea as to how to do so.

It was challenging
as in my limited experience with PBL courses I have seen how challenging
collaborative learning is.

We started
well as a group on this topic. The initial awkwardness had dissolved. People
knew what to expect from each other.

The literature
states that there are four stages of interactions between learners in an online
course. (Siemens 2005). These are defined as cooperation, communication,
collaboration and community.

As we
worked through the topic, I realized that a lot of knowledge build up and
assimilation happens via interactions and discussions. Human interaction and
discussions are essential even in the digital world

It was
exemplified by the ease with which the group members assimilated and came up
with a spectacular presentation on a tool most of them had not heard of before.
It was all about communication and cooperation.

Thus I feel that collaboration without cooperation is impossible. In fact cooperation must precede collaboration for any effective collaborative learning.

References

Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism:  Learning theory for the digital
age.  International Journal of
Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), January 2005