Learning in Virtual Teams: Exploring the Student Experience

Abstract

In 2005 an undergraduate course in project management was converted from face-to-face mode to wholly online mode. The online course was designed with an underlying problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy and used a simulated, fictitious telecommunications company, United Enterprises (UE), as a case study learning resource. The students worked in virtual teams to complete online learning activities and to solve authentic project management tasks for UE. This paper reports the findings of three surveys that were completed by students during the semester, to gauge their opinions about their experiences of working in virtual teams within the learning environment. Most students indicated that they valued the opportunity to discuss various aspects of the course with peers and faculty online, and to interact with real-life employees of UE. Overall the findings show that students were satisfied with this style of learning and enjoyed the experience of working collaboratively within a virtual team.