Frustrated and Needing Advice!

Alright, I'm not sure if this is in the correct forum, but here goes:

I have to do a project for an online class with three other group members. We have to build a website. We have weekly small projects as well, such as in three days we need to have our website topic picked out and basic setup of the website complete. I have emailed these members three times throughout this week, and only one has emailed me back. We have three days, and I'm getting antsy. I don't want to be the niggling nancy of the group, but I'm getting frustrated since I hate procrastination. What should I do? Email the teacher now? Just do it anyways? Wait until the last possible day that it's due to email the teacher if they still havent emailed me back? I don't want to look like a tattle-tale jerk, but I am not doing this and letting other people take the credit!! Also, I don't want to piss them off since at the end of the class, group members grade each other based on our work in the group and its a pretty significant portion of our grade.

p.s. I don't know any other way to contact them

Any answers are appreciated, thanks!

Well if you have dreamweaver that would be a good start, if not there are free online WYSIWYG editors. What i would do is just use a template from dreamweaver (or the free program) and just put in my own photos and text. When it is time to turn it in write to your teacher and let him know that the other people in your group are retards so you just did it yourself. Unless doing it with other people was a major factor in the assignment, in that case just say they helped.

What was the response of the one who did email you back?

I think if it was me, I'd send them another email proposing some ideas and cc the two who haven't replied on the email.

Hopefully, the one member would respond and you could get the ball rolling between the two of you, cc'ing the two non-participants on all your communications.

Maybe they'd eventually join in and maybe not, but it does sound like you're going to have to take the initiative and get started.

For what it's worth, the instructor will probably have a pretty good feel for who actually bore the brunt of the work when the project is done, just based off each individual's other work for the class.

This happened to me when I had to build a "group site". There were 4 of us in a group, and at the time, only another person and myself were in communication (and we got our portions of the website done).

What we did was:
1. Made sure our work (meaning the stuff we were supposed to work on) was done and complete.

2. We told the instructor, well, it was more of a warning, that we were the only ones that did work on the website (which was obvious, because the areas that the other members were covering were blank).

What the instructor did was, in our case, made it an individual grade. My other partner and myself got full credit, because we did the work, and as for the other two, they failed the assignment. An instructor isn't blind; they can see when things are not working out.


I advise that you let the teacher know what's going on right now. Don't worry about feeling like a "tattle-tail". I say this because I would assume that in a real job, if a coworker isn't doing their share of the work, you would go to the Boss or Manager and let them know.

Also, just like we did, I advise you make sure your portion of the work is done. If your feeling revengeful (I don't recommend, but am including it nonetheless), try to make the website yourself.

If you just want it out of the way, just do your portion, keep trying to contact them, and finally let the teacher know. When you do try to contact them, remind them that the project is due in [x] days, and even possibly hint that your going to the instructor on this.

Apart from that, look into Dreamweaver. You can literally build a basic website with a few clicks of a mouse.

-fossilera

reply to post by State of Mind


It really depends on the professor. "Group" projects are sometimes a learning experience that is about so many things other than the assigned topic. The experiences you're having will likely happen again in your life.

You can do many things -- suck it up and do everything, or the majority of things, yourself. Attempt to motivate others; cast your lot along with whatever the group is able to accomplish. Complain to the professor or other group members, and attempt to get the project restructured. Or learn to dodge and shirk responsibility more effectively than those who would dump it on you.

See? So much more to learn than just web site design!

Maybe they dont check their email's everyday, I know I don't. Maybe you can track them down on myspace or facebook.

I say....

Get in good with Skeptic Overlord and tell your teacher you created ATS.