Using the WWW to support Project-Team formation

A team-based mechanical engineering design course at Stanford University has been expanded to include a new set of students attending remotely from industry. Because this class is centered on collaborative team experiences, it requires a degree of interactivity beyond what can be provided by periodic lecture transmissions. The World-Wide Web has been adopted as an artificial backbone in service of social exchange, and its use in facilitating project-team formation is examined. Once the technological hurdle is overcome, socio-cultural differences between the university environment and workplace emerge as main barriers to successful peer-interaction.