"This book, by Robert Ubell and his excellent team of collaborators, adds an important dimension to effective teaching and learning in online environments. It addresses how interaction and collaboration online can be effectively harnessed in virtual teams. It is an important contribution to the larger field of Internet-based education."
—Frank Mayadas, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation How to create and manage highly successful teams online
With the advent of the global economy and high-speed Internet, online collaboration is fast becoming the norm in education and industry. This book takes online collaboration to the next level, showing how you can bolster online learning and business performance with the innovative use of virtual teams.
Written by a team of experts headed by online learning pioneer Robert Ubell, Virtual Teamwork covers best practices for online instruction and team learning, reveals proven techniques for managing enterprise and global virtual teams, and helps you choose the best communication tools for the job.
Educators, project managers, and anyone involved in teaching online courses or creating online programs will find a wealth of tips and techniques for building and managing successful virtual teams, including guidance for:
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Integrating team instruction in the virtual classroom
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Using best techniques for team interaction across borders and time zones
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Structuring cost-effective, competitive projects that work
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Leveraging leadership, mentoring, and conflict management in virtual teams
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Conducting testing, grading, and peer- and self-assessment online
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Managing corporate, global, and engineering virtual teams
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Choosing the right technologies for effective collaboration
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments ix
Contributors xv
Foreword xxv
Frank Mayadas
Preface xxix
Jerry M. Hultin
Dewey Goes Online xxxiii
Robert Ubell
Part 1 Managing Virtual Teams 1
1 Building Virtual Teams 3
Edward Volchok
2 Leadership 17
Michael R. Ryan
3 Peer and Self-Assessment 45
Paul Resta and Haekyung Lee
4 Mitigating Conflict 65
Richard Dool
5 Virtual Teams in Very Small Classes 91
Elaine Lehecka Pratt
Part 2 Virtual Team Technology 111
6 Choosing Online Collaborative Tools 113
Phylise Banner, M. Katherine (Kit) Brown-Hoekstra, Brenda Huettner, and Char James-Tanny
7 Communication Technologies 137
Anu Sivunen and Maarit Valo
Part 3 Enterprise and Global Teams 159
8 Teaming across Borders 161
Richard Dool
9 Global Corporate Virtual Teams 193
Christine Uber Grosse
10 Corporate Virtual Teaming 211
Luther Tai
11 Virtual Engineering Teams 241
Doug Vogel, Michiel van Genuchten, Carol Saunders, and A.-F. Rutkowski
Index 257
About the Author :
ROBERT UBELL is Vice President, Enterprise Learning, NYU Polytechnic Institute. Earlier, he launched Stevens Institute of Technology's online graduate program, winner of the Sloan Prize as the "best online learning program" in the nation. Ubell was editor of The Sciences, American Publisher of Nature, and a senior executive at leading publishers. He has written or edited five books and more than fifty scholarly articles and received grants from numerous prominent foundations. He serves on the Board of the Sloan Consortium.
Review :
"Based on best practices generated over the last decade, Virtual Teams reveals how to manage teams successfully, with chapters on how to build intimate virtual relationships and how to communicate creatively online." (Certification Magazine, 1 May 2011)
"This collection of expert perspectives, edited by enterprising-learning professor Robert Ubell, offers a practical guide to virtual teamwork". (Nature, 23 December 2010)
"This work is for educators, project managers, and anyone else involved in teaching online courses or creating online programs. It describes best practices for online instruction and team learning, and offers advice for managing enterprises and building global virtual teams. Contributors come from backgrounds in instructional design, instructional technology, international documentation, training, information systems, and leadership." (Book News Inc, November 2010)
