Had a great experience last week with high school students working on trebuchet prototypes across 100 miles via Skype. 2 students in each location, trying to build a working trebuchet out of scraps of wood, cardboard, and various other materials. They had 20 minutes the day before when they were together in person to look through a big bag of materials, divide it out, figure out who was working on the top throwing part and the bottom base. Their goal the following afternoon was to create a trebuchet, communicate via Skype and put the pieces together the following day.
It worked great. The biggest challenge was the Skype technology being a bit too laggy and difficult to hear in the shop. And, interestingly, the adult mentors liked Skype better than the students -- probably because we're considering the financial and time aspect as well as easy communication.
For next time, here's an interesting article about managing teams across distances and cultures -- and more importance for hierarchy when working virtually, interestingly.
It worked great. The biggest challenge was the Skype technology being a bit too laggy and difficult to hear in the shop. And, interestingly, the adult mentors liked Skype better than the students -- probably because we're considering the financial and time aspect as well as easy communication.
For next time, here's an interesting article about managing teams across distances and cultures -- and more importance for hierarchy when working virtually, interestingly.
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