How could I apply group work into my classroom?

The easiest way I can think of doing this would be by using the lesson plans are group has created. Although it's not perfect, for the most part the unit we just created could be easily applied in a classroom. Every one of our lessons involves group work and the plans we have laid our clearly explain how to carry out the proceedures. As far as assessing student's work, I would use a rubric. Also, I would have students give their other group members a grade based on their performance. Hopefully when I finally get a teaching job I will have a reasonably sized classroom and a block schedule because I think these lesson plans could have the potential to become very difficult to carry out in a large class and in a short amount of time. 

More thoughts on the group project

Looking back at the project as a whole I would say our finished product is pretty good. For the most part I think an experienced teacher could look at one of our lesson plans and with a little imagination be able to carry out the proceedure. I'd say that in general the lessons would keep students attention and even be fun. Students will learn a lot. They will work on their research skills, oral skills, group work, involve their parents in oral history, and design a multimedia presentation. Do I think it could have been better? Yes. Unfortunately, due to the realities of being a student, everyone in our group had hectic schedules and personal responsibilites that effected the potential of our project. This project has been the most demanding assignment of my program. Honestly, if it was an individual assignment, I would have had the whole thing done weeks ago. But, as the professor has said, the point of the project is to put us in these situations now so that we are more prepared for them once we become actual teachers. With that in mind, the assignment was definately a learning experience. Knowing when to speak up and when to listen or when to push for your idea and when to give up on it were constantly reoccuring considerations that had either a positive or negative impact on group functionality depending on how each dilemma was handled. Although these are situations we have already faced throughout our lives, having this assignment count for such a large part of our grade definately added a unique pressure to try hard to make everything work.
    

Illumnate Session

In short, I think Illuminate has the potential to be a great tool, but it requires a lot of practice in order to pull it off. People were too hesitant to speak, which at times created an uncomfortable silence that made me feel for the facilitator. In a physical classsrom these silences happen all the time and its no big deal, partly because the facilitator is able to pick up on subtle cues, such as drifting eyes or blank faces, and play off of them to adapt to the situation. Not, in the virtual classroom though. The illuminate experience felt cool and uncomfortable. Its inherent impersonal qualities left me yearning for real interaction. I think this program would work great in the business world or other public services, but not in Education. Not, on a regular basis anyway. Maybe as technology gets better and the layout is more convienent and the program speeds up it could become usefull on a wider basis. I also think one of the problems might have been the size of the room. I could see it working much smoother with a group of 4 rather than 20, especially if all of the students knew what they were doing and had more of a stake in participating. But, of course this wasn't possible so we made the best of it. Overall it was a fun experince and it was great to learn something new. I have never done anything like it before so in a way it was a little surreal. Does anyone know if online colleges use this tool?