Development of Virtual Teams and Learning Communities

Students of an Internet based course in project management have during a 20 week period worked in teams of 4-6 persons. The course consisted of Swedish students living in Sweden or abroad making it impossible for many of the teams to have any face-to-face interaction. The study shows that students considered their team working efficient and that the possibility to communicate, discuss and share experiences was essential for their attitude regarding the development of a learning community. The purpose of the study in this paper is to study virtual teams. More precisely, to investigate if virtual teams develop over time and what variables may effect the creation of a strong learning community for collaboration and an efficient performance.