Collaborative learning in a virtual classroom: highlights of findings
CSCW '88 Proceedings of the 1988 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work
The use of information technology to enhance management school education: a theoretical view
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on IS curricula and pedagogy
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on IS curricula and pedagogy
Asynchronous learning networks as a virtual classroom
Communications of the ACM
Information Resources Management Journal
Student characteristics and computer-mediated communication
Computers & Education
Reflection on-line or off-line: the role of learning technologies in encouraging students to reflect
Computers & Education - VIRTUALITY IN EDUCATION selected contributions from the CAL 99 symposium
Knowledge sharing practices and technology use norms in dispersed development teams
ICIS '00 Proceedings of the twenty first international conference on Information systems
Independent student learning aided by computers: an acceptable alternative to lectures?
Computers & Education
Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems
Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems
Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology, Second Edition
Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology, Second Edition
Computers & Education - Documenting collaborative interactions: Issues and approaches
Tracing success: graphical methods for analysing successful collaborative problem solving
Computers & Education - Documenting collaborative interactions: Issues and approaches
Collaborative learning through computer-mediated argumentation
CSCL '99 Proceedings of the 1999 conference on Computer support for collaborative learning
Is anybody out there?: antecedents of trust in global virtual teams
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Managing virtual workplaces and teleworking with information technology
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Collaborative work is an important part of tertiary education but it is very difficult to arrange and supervise for extremely large classes of students in their first year. The possibility that computer-mediated communication can be used to facilitate this type of learning is appealing from a pragmatic organisational point of view. This paper explains in detail what a 'virtual team' is in the educational context. It reports on an interpretive field study where students taking an introductory course were allowed to choose where and when they did the required collaborative work. The paper discusses the factors that should be taken into account when offering students the option of working as a virtual team. These include factors that influence the students' choice. The project cannot be considered to have been successful but indicates reasons for the lack of success and suggests contexts in which it would be valuable to repeat the project. The importance of extensive preparation in terms of teaching the students necessary social and technological skills cannot be over emphasised.