Group Project and Group Learning Experience with Shazzle

Imagine this, you are a senior in college with a full course load, a part-time job, basketball practice, club meetings, and wham, your professor assigns a big group project. Making the time to complete the project with your hectic schedule is going to be difficult enough, but now you have to coordinate meetings and work with four other people.

This scenario is not too hard for most students to imagine. Students are becoming increasingly busy, with heavy course loads, financial demands that make it necessary for part-time jobs, and a competitive job market that makes it imperative for students to have internships and relevant extracurriculars. In the midst of all of this, coordinating schedules to meet with group members can become nearly impossible – until Shazzle...

Shazzle, amongst many things, is a privatized file sharing and remote storage tool that incorporates live communication capabilities to ultimately create robust communities. Anyone can use Shazzle for a variety of different uses, but small, niche communities are where the program's uniqueness and usefulness really shine. Private group project communities are an excellent example of this.

Within Shazzle, a group of students can create a private, password protected community that only their group can access. Within these communities, information for sharing is stored in folders that are completely customizable. For example, there may be an “Research”, “Rough Draft”, or “Sources of Information” folder. Group members can upload files (text documents, PowerPoints, pdf's, photos, videos, etc.) into the program for other members to download, view, and print. Website links can be added to folders, which becomes especially useful when it comes time to document information sources.

The unique file sharing capabilities of Shazzle makes the compiling and group editing of a paper, or whole project for that matter, a breeze. For example, Sarah writes and edits her part of the paper and uploads the draft into the community. Then, Jason downloads the file, edits it, and re-uploads the file for the next group member to critique. It's that simple. The whole process can be completed remotely.

Shazzle's communication features are what really make the software program a compelling tool. While it is relatively simple to transfer documents via email or instant message, Shazzle combines file sharing and live communication. Imagine being able to have a virtual group meeting where everyone can simultaneously view a document and converse about possible changes. Besides engaging in live chats where everyone can participate, group members can also talk to each other one-on-one using Shazzle Chat. Shazzle also boasts a message board and customizable scrolling shout out bar where announcements, reminders, and links can be posted.

While face-to-face meetings play an important role in the success of any group, Shazzle allows for some flexibility. It is also an excellent way for a group to organize their information in a remote location so that anyone can access it at any time. Best of all, Shazzle is completely free!