Lessons Learned from Remote Collaboration on Student Projects

We describe an informal experiment in which students from two different universities collaborated remotely, through email, on a class project. Students enrolled in a course in quantitative decision making at both the University of Hawaii (UH) and Southern Methodist University (SMU) were paired in teams to analyze and solve a complex linear programming case problem. In addition to making a series of decisions related to the case, students were asked to devise a team strategy for working as a remote team. Despite some shortcomings related primarily to time constraints and miscalculations in planning, the majority of students involved in the experiment made quality decisions and thought the experience was valuable. We describe the project and report on the lessons learned in designing and implementing remote email collaboration among students. We also provide suggestions for other educators interested in conducting similar projects