IPRO Dev Teams

 

These days it is common for development teams to be spread across multiple time zones requiring them to collaborate virtually and asynchronously. This IPRO is designed to prepare students to succeed at this contemporary type of project work.

 

An IPRO Dev Team is an interdisciplinary group of students working virtually and intensely to create a solution to a meaningful research question. They goal is to develop a solution that can be put out into the world. We want to reframe the experience; the students will feel like they are part of a development team on a critical mission, not in a traditional class. The experience was designed from the ground up to take advantage of digital learning and asynchronous collaboration.

 

How will this class work? 

Students will first review and understand the requirements for joining this course:

• Access technology in the place you will be working (good internet connection, ability to use Blackboard, Trello, Survey Monkey, and GitHub, and appropriate device(s).
• Desire to work on a virtual team and the discipline required to be productive without the familiar structure of class time and in person meetings.
• Willingness to work on a provided research question and the agreement to see the project through to the end of the semester.
• You will be on a team that shares a passion for the same research question… but you will not be able to pick your teammates, like most real-world projects you will be assigned to a team.
• Acceptance that this will not be a normal class and that, as a student, you will have increased responsibility related to project management and determining what work you will do and how it will be completed.

 

Students will then sign up for the IPRO Dev teams section. We list a time only because one is required to list a class (you will only meet, virtually, on the first and last day of class at this time). Your team will find a time to meet weekly (for about an hour) with your faculty mentor that fits into everyone’s schedule. Most of the work will be completed asynchronously or through brief virtual collaborations.

 

Once registered, students will select a research question they want to work on for the entire class. When students register for the class they will be sent a link to a document. This document will provide detail on the research questions and link to a form where they will provide a first, second, and third choice. Inter-disciplinary teams will be formed around each research question. We will be sure to include students from multiple colleges on each research question.

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