Physical location can make it more difficult to work together on group projects and team assignments. This is especially difficult when participants in the virtual setting are in different time zones and all work full time. According to Whetten and Cameron (1998) "abrasive, insensitive, and unskillful message delivery leads to distant, distrustful, and uncaring interpersonal relationships, which ultimately results in restricted, inaccurate information, and defective communication flow (p. 123). They also posit the need to focus on strengths and weaknesses of group cohesiveness and proximity and the need for groups to work together and participate in team projects.

In our current technological advanced workplace, it is imperative that the group work well together but they don't necessarily have to be in the same vicinity to be a strong team. Modern technology has made it possible to "facetime" and instant chat with individuals and this can enhance the team's ability to work together. There is also email and telephone calls to handle issues or situations that may arise while working on a team project.

Some benefits of using these tools are sending messages that arent necessarily urgent, scheduling and conducting effective meetings remotely that reduces time wasted and interruptions. There are also more efficient forms of communication if you need to talk with someone who is not centrally located to your proximity, it might save you time to just send them an instant message if you know they are at their desk.

As a student taking GCU online courses, in order to participate in a virtual setting you must have access to both the internet and a computer. In the virtual class setting, individuals have an opportunity to respond to posts from other students which simulates a conversation. This is only effective if students actually read the posts and take the opportunity to respond to one other.

For some of you that have taken traditional classroom courses, how do you feel about your online education?