Information and Knowledge Management using ArcGIS ModelBuilder

Elsje Scott, Peter Weimann and Nata van der Merwe
Because of the online study method used at BHT, their project teams closely resemble the definition
of a virtual team, i.e. teams whose members use technology to varying degrees in working across
locational, temporal, and relational boundaries to accomplish an interdependent task (Martins, Gilson
& Maynard, 2004). It is interesting to note that the South African project teams, especially at CPUT,
show characteristics similar to virtual teams in large organisations, because of their multi-cultural
make up, their distributed working styles (at home, with the sponsor, in the labs), and their limited
face-to-face meeting opportunities due to travel costs, involvement in different courses and part-time
work. The effects of proximity among team members fall off rapidly with even very small distances
(Fiol & O’Connor 2005; Kraut, Fussell, Brennan, & Siegel 2002) and so team members who live close
to each other but meet irregularly, may experience very similar dynamics to members of virtual teams
interacting across great distances. This is a topic that calls for more research. A comparison
between teams in an online project-based environment versus the virtual team caused by
circumstance in the face-to-face approach at the other two institutions also warrants further
investigation.
An important element in effective mentoring, evident at all three institutions, is the relationship of trust
that must exist between the lecturer as mentor and the students, as well as between the members of
the student groups themselves. Without trust, students will not have the confidence to approach the
mentor for guidance and be willing to accept the feedback offered. Effective mentoring also needs to
address team harmony, since despite the best efforts of team building, trust between members of the
group can break down and undermine the learning opportunity (Huff, Cooper & Jones, 2002).
6. Conclusion
In an attempt to enhance the learning experience of IS/IT students, we have gone beyond standard
classroom practices and used the project-based approach to expose students to the complexities of
the modern-day business environment. After reflecting on our experiences, we conclude that although
the project-based approach places heavy demands on the lecturer in the roles of teacher, mentor and
researcher, it simultaneously provides valuable opportunities for personal growth and the expansion
of skills and knowledge. We identified a number of challenges and concerns at the three institutions
and also identified areas for further investigation and research. Argylis (1991) reminds us that
reflection can help practitioners to realise the wealth of knowledge embedded in their own experience,
and to use this embedded knowledge to improve and advance their work. This was certainly our
experience of using reflection to explore the role of the lecturer as teacher, mentor and researcher in
the project-based approach, and our respective courses will be enhanced by the insights we have
gained.
References
Argyris, C. (1991) Teaching smart people how to learn. Harvard Business Review, May-June.
Barron, B. & Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Teaching for meaningful learning: A review of research on inquirybased
and cooperative learning. In Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching for Understanding.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-formeaningful-learning.pdf
[14 March 2011]
Cockburn, A. (2002). Agile Software Development. Pearson Education Inc.
Crawford, L., Morris, P., Thomas, J. & Winter, M. (2006) Practitioner development: From trained technicians to
reflective practitioners. International Journal of Project Management, 24, 722-733.
Dreyfus, H. L. (1999). Anonymity versus commitment: The dangers of education on the internet. Ethics and
Information Technology, 1, 15-21.
Fiol, C., & O’Connor, E. (2005). Identification in Face-to-face, Hybrid, and Pure Virtual Teams: Untangling the
Contradictions. Organization Science, 16(1), pp. 19-32.
Gerogiannis, V., & Fitsilis, P. (2005). “A Project-Based Learning Approach for Teaching ERP Concepts”. The
International Journal of Learning, Vol 12. http://www.Learning-Journal.com [28 October 2009]
Gorgone, J.T., Davis, G.B., Valacich, J.S., Topi, H., Feinstein, D.L., and Longenecker, H.E.: IS 2002: Model
Curriculum and Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Information Systems. Communications
of the Association for Information Systems, 11 (1), pp. 1-63 (2003).
Grant, M. (2009). “Understanding projects in project-based learning: A student's perspective”. Paper presented at
Annual Meetings of the American Educational Research Association. San Diego, CA. April, 2009. Retrieved
from http://www.bie.org/research/study/students_perspective [14 March 2011]
Huff, L., Cooper, J. & Jones, W. (2002). The Development and Consequences of Trust in Student Project
Groups. Journal of Marketing Education, 24 (1), 24–34.
Jordi, R.: Reframing the Concept of Reflection: Consciousness, Experiential Learning, and Reflective Learning
Practices, Adult Education Quarterly, May 2011; vol. 61, 2: pp. 181-197., first published on September 22,
2010
450