A Systematic Method for Discovering Effective Patterns of Virtual Project Management

The effective management of virtual projects within global organizations is an inherently collaborative activity as well as an increasingly critical issue. The concept of patterns provides a useful theoretical framework by which we can study the design of effective practices for the management of virtual projects. However, a number of significant gaps exist in our knowledge of this area and one of the most important is the need for a systematic method for discovering effective patterns. We propose such a systematic method and provide a detailed example of the use of our proposed pattern discovery method

Learning in Virtual Worlds: Understanding Its Impact on Social and Cognitive Processes in Learning

This study responds to the call for systematic knowledge and understanding related to virtual world learning environments (VWLEs). We propose a research model of VWLEs and explore the use of a VWLE on key social and cognitive process in learning during on-going interaction in the learning environment

An Inductive Analysis of Factors Affecting Student Attitudes toward a Virtual World Learning Environment

Virtual world learning environments have great potential to enhance education, yet the specific factors that attract students are relatively under-researched. Drawing on insights from a qualitative analysis of student reactions to the Second Life environment, we identified five main factors that influence student attitudes toward using a technology in education: ease of use, usefulness, likability, technology accessibility, and system quality. The results supplement traditional notions of enhanced capabilities as the key to use of technology, by discovering additional factors that influence adoption and sustained use of new technology in a learning environment

Teaching and Learning about Virtual Collaboration: What We Know and Need to Know

Virtual collaboration is an essential skill in today’s organizations, but where and how do people learn it? What do we know about teaching and learning with respect to virtual collaboration? We examined this question from multiple perspectives: (1) best practices in virtual teams, in order to provide the content of what might be taught about virtual collaboration; (2) best practices in teaching techniques and in technology use, which provides guidance for how the material might be taught; and (3) examples of current practice in this area, which gives an idea of what is being taught. The combination of literature review and informal survey of current practice provides a foundation for discussion and speculation on how we might accelerate efforts to help people become highly effective members of virtual teams

Swarming Around New Initiatives: A Virtual Foyer for Interdisciplinary Teams

Virtual teams are commonplace today and their evolving use continues to raise a variety of interesting research questions. One specific type of virtual team is the interdisciplinary team, where team members have very different backgrounds on a variety of dimensions. A central challenge in such teams is achieving shared understanding to identify and move forward on new initiatives. We describe an initial concept and study for investigating technology and process structures to help members of an interdisciplinary virtual team identify and engage in new initiatives. We propose the concept of a “virtual foyer” as a mechanism by which team members can congregate around new ideas. The prototype implementation of the concept is described along with implications for further development and research

A Modular Approach to Teaching and Learning of Virtual Collaboration

Virtual collaboration has become an essential part of how work gets done in organizations today and knowing how to collaborate virtually is an important skill for success. Courses with team projects may include a virtual component, but rarely is there any explicit education on how best to engage in virtual collaboration. The topic is a complex one that takes into account a wide variety of issues, including behavioral, social, and technological dimensions. Our research addresses this need by developing modules for teaching and learning of virtual collaboration. The modules are based on underlying theory in this field and have practical application in education and training. We describe an initial application of the modular approach to teaching and learning of virtual collaboration that took place during the Fall Semester 2008

From Profiles to Patterns: A New View of Task-Technology Fit

Continuing advances in the capabilities of communication and information technologies provide a wide array of interesting ways for people to collaborate across space, time, cultures, and organizational boundaries. While the use of collaboration technologies spreads, researchers seek answers to understanding how best to match different technology capabilities with the tasks that teams need to accomplish. Different theories of task-technology fit have been promoted and these theories help to identify key issues of interest to both researchers and practitioners who seek the answer to the best technology support for collaboration. We examine existing theories of fit for collaboration technology and propose a new view, using the theoretical frame of patterns. We argue that this fresh perspective is particularly relevant in the virtual contexts that are so important in the dynamic life of organizations today

An Exploratory Study of the Impact of a Virtual World Learning Environment on Student Interaction and Learning Satisfaction

Research in online education has demonstrated that social presence and student interaction are important factors in learning. This study extends current research to the new learning environment of virtual worlds and explores their role in student interaction and learning satisfaction. We examined learning satisfaction in an online course using virtual world technology to assess sense of presence, social presence and student interaction. Data on multiple independent variables (measures of presence, social presence, and interaction) and dependent variables (learning satisfaction) were collected and analyzed. Our findings indicate that students did not perceive a high level of presence in the virtual world environment. No significant relationship was found between perception of presence and students’ interaction while students’ perceived social presence was significantly related to their perceived interaction and learning satisfaction

Causal Factors for Web Site Complexity

The World Wide Web has become the medium of choice for the distribution and use of information by individuals, teams, organizations, and communities. Web sites—the collection of web pages that make up the World Wide Web—are the fundamental means by which that information is retrieved and distributed. Understanding the factors that impact the complexity of a web site is a key step toward effective retrieval and distribution of information and its ultimate use in collaborative activity.This paper proposes three major dimensions of factors that impact the complexity of a web site: (1) cognition, (2) content, and (3) form. These three dimensions and their associated factors comprise how individuals perceive a web site, the content that is located at the site, and the manner in which the web site is constructed. A model and associated propositions are presented, and implications of this approach for research and practice are discussed. This multi-dimensional view of web site complexity provides a richer approach to understanding how complexity might be examined and, ultimately, reduced. This paper relates to collaborative work through individuals and their interaction with a web site. This interaction is, in fact, a communication between the individual using a web site and an individual, group, or organization responsible for the design of the web site. Additionally, the individual perspective is a necessary starting point for collaborative use between and among people

Mentoring and Developing Doctoral Students and Junior Faculty: Introduction to the Special Section in Honor of the Contribution of Gary W. Dickson to Student and Colleague Mentoring

Gary W. Dickson is one of the founders of the field of Information Systems, and his influence is fundamental. From among the many contributions he has made, his mentoring and development of doctoral students especially stands out. This Special Section of the Communications of the Association for Information Systems has been developed to recognize that contribution and serve as a repository of knowledge for current and future doctoral students, faculty, and their mentors