Work Group Rules

You are now part of a special effects team. As a member of this team, you will work on movie and commercial production crews to ensure that the effects being designed and captured on film or video reflect the actual physics behind the action. Collaborating with 3-4 peers, you will work on a variety of special effects projects.

There are a number of reasons why you are working on a team as opposed to tackling the projects individually:

  1. In the real world, this type of work is done in teams. The credits of any film show a long list of people involved in bringing special effects to life.
  2. Learning how to work effectively on a team is an important professional skill. Nearly all professions require collaboration and teamwork.
  3. The special effects projects are complex, reflecting the true nature of the types of projects special effects teams actually face. Working with others, people can often achieve more than they would individually. There are opportunities to share the workload and risk, be exposed to diverse ideas and approaches to solving the problem, and help each other learn how to apply physics concepts to real-world problems.
  4. Students in online courses can feel disconnected because they do not meet in a classroom together, leading to course dissatisfaction, frustration, low motivation, and procrastination. Working with others on a project can help alleviate these concerns.

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