How and When to Get Help
If you come across a problem that you cannot seem to solve on your own your first port of call should be the team Wiki. If one of your other team members has had this problem and solved it, they will have posted the solution, or at least some help on the Wiki for the other team members?
If there is nothing on the Wiki related to your problem you should try asking your team mates directly either through email or through an instant messenger like MSN if that is available. If they have managed to solve the problem already they will likely be more than happy to help you. If they haven’t solved it, then it may bring it to their attention that they do not know how to do that and you can research the answer between you.
If your team mates cannot help you will need to do your own research on the matter. Begin with the book list and links you were provided with at the start of the course. These were chosen because they contained most things you need to know for this course. If however you cannot find what you are looking for in the books or on the sites provided you should look elsewhere in the library or on the internet. Typing your problem into Google is a good way to begin.
If your attempts at your own research fail and you are getting close to the submission date you could contact you tutor for help. This should be done as a last resort because the object of Problem Based Learning is to let you research problems yourself. You should contact your tutor via e-mail unless they have made another form of communication available to you (such as MSN). When you contact your tutor, be sure to put your JELLO team number in the subject. Begin the email by stating clearly what your problem is and what you have done already to research it including any red herrings you found as it is possible that you have actually uncovered the answer and just not realised it.
An email to your Tutor should look something like this:
Your tutor is unlikely to reply telling you exactly what to do and how. They are more likely to reply with questions and suggestions that will point you towards the right answer.
Once you have solved your problem, it is a good idea to post a summary of the problem, the steps you took to solve it and the solution on the Wiki so that others with the same problem can get help from it.