Under the supervision of Dr. Ilze Zigurs, Chairperson of Information Science and Quantitative Analysis (ISQA), Alanah Davis, who just completed her Ph.D, studied the use of interventions in virtual teams in order to lead or influence learning capabilities.
The students collaborated via Huddle (www.huddle.net) and Skype (www.skype.com) for an eight-week period to create a system and then design, develop, and test the system. Throughout the process of collaboration, video interventions are shown to the students each week, and their influence on the student teams is measured via weekly surveys and mood meters.
It is expected that this research will contribute to knowledge, practice, and teaching. In terms of a research contribution, a new theory and set of constructs are being presented and tested. Additionally, future research could look into the application of interventions to other areas besides technology choice. In relation to practice, it is the hope that interventions will be of use to virtual team managers or leaders. If the interventions prove to be useful to team managers, the managers may begin using them as a way to lead their virtual teams.
In relation to teaching, the goal of the interventions is to result in team learning. The interventions could be a potential way to teach or train students in the future.
The question arises whether these virtual teams are making appropriate technology choices for the tasks they come together to work on. There is also a need to understand how team leaders can guide these virtual teams. Therefore, Davis's research examined the use of interventions in virtual teams in order to lead or influence technology decisions.
Since the spring semester of 2008, a global offshore development project was being implemented to test virtual team interventions and their influence on technology choice. The project involved students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur.
Faculties Involved
- Dr. Ilze Zigurs.
Student Involved
- Alanah Davis.
The project involved students from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur.
