I'd rather die than give you control

OK so I'm a control freak when it comes to my work--collaboration is a challenge. Google docs and wikis can be uncomfortable places for someone like me. They push you out of your comfort zone by opening up work for the input of others. This is a good thing (thisisagoodthing, thisisagoodthing, thisisagoodthing) because it forces you to cede some control to the group and it absolutely streamlines the work process. People can log in and work within their time frame instead of having to wait for an email trail back and forth between participants. No email trail is needed because the process is organic. It is all there for you to see without having to wade through your inbox. Perfect, of course, for online students.

I can't imagine why a faculty member wouldn't embrace this technology. Consider that in the "old way" the faculty member only has access to the final product of a project. S/he may require submission of outlines or other supporting materials, but s/he can't really see the process. With things like googledocs and wikis, s/he can see the process laid out from first word on the page to completed project and all the steps in between. It can be a failsafe to be sure all members of a group participate or it be used simply as part of an evaluation of the project, whether a group project or a singular project. To make the process transparent would be a big draw for me if I were an educator.

What might keep faculty from accepting it might be the usual fear of anything new or even the belief that because the work is created online it is somehow inferior to "real" research.

I actually had a revelation while working with googledocs/wikis and it was this: while it may seem I am giving up control in working in these environments, in reality I have more control than ever before because the process is transparent and trackable. My group members can see my process and I theirs. Suddenly the unknowable becomes knowable. Maybe that's what would scare faculty the most?