The GIM teams’ Virtual Studios

In order for international teams to work collaboratively towards producing their final product, each team was assigned a specially-designed web-based Virtual Studio, which had been designed to enhance shared knowledge-construction and problem-solving among members of the international teams. Students were encouraged to use this space to initially get to know members of their team better and later, upload and share working drafts of their deliverables. Although students were assigned a specific role that allowed them to edit and organize their team’s Virtual Studio as they saw fit, each studio was originally set up including the following tools: 

• Group-specific notice board, forum and chat tools to facilitate communication between team members.
• Team-building ‘getting to know you’ activity in which students provide information on themselves to their fellow team members. 

The evolution of the Virtual Studios can be seen in Appendix A.

Appendix A. Evolution of GIM Online Learning Environment.
A.5. Virtual Studio 2014-2015