Groupwork is one of the learning strategies used by educators to engage university students in active learning. University students, however, often perceive group work as overwhelming and as extra work. There is a need to investigate how students perceive working in groups in online learning environments, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study investigates the experiences of female undergraduate students with online group work in an early childhood education course in a federal university in the UAE. A cross-sectional approach was employed using a study-specific questionnaire that was designed to solicit the perceptions of 31 female Emirati undergraduate students and their perspectives of group work that was part of an online course. The questionnaire included multiple-choice questions as well as open-ended questions. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics as well as content analysis. Results indicated that students generally held a positive attitude towards working in groups online. The most reported skills developed through online group work according to the participants were time management (88%) and teamwork (81%). Despite these benefits, students reported some challenges for working in online groups, the most important being low contributions (31%) and poor commitment (28%) from some team members. To address the challenges reported by students, the study suggests carefully designing online group assignments and projects to ensure maximum participation from all students. This includes using strategies such as explicitly educating students about the benefits of working in groups for skill development, scheduling regular check-up meetings, and ensuring timely and specific feedback is given to students.