But they weren't goofing off. They were completing a unique international software engineering project Erickson assigned them. They recently presented the results of their unique projects.
This project has given our students an opportunity to work on a geographically distributed global team, which is what they'll have to do in their careers, explains Erickson, who completed a sabbatical in Sweden in 1996.
That's the trend in software design. And working with students in Sweden is especially interesting, since that country has been called the Silicon Valley of Europe.
The Runestone project--named for the Middle Age alphabet seen on stone monuments throughout Sweden--had teams of American and Swedish students working together via the Internet to write a software program. Eighteen teams of six students--three from GVSU and three from the University of Uppsala--worked to create a Web-based version of the popular wooden maze game called Labyrinth.
The physical version of the game has a maze with holes in it on two axes. Players must move a metal ball through the maze without letting it fall through the holes. The international student teams communicated via email and used Microsoft's NetMeeting software.
The students' job was to write software that lets the Web user control the ball, Erickson explains.
In addition to solving a computer science problem, Erickson says the project gave students multiple lessons that will be of use in the professional world. For example, he points out that many global corporations and project teams are taking advantage of time zone differences to maintain 24-hour work schedules.
Students had to overcome differences in cultural and educational backgrounds, as well as language and time zone differences, he explains. A secondary aim of the project is to have the students identify strategies for communication, management, and technology uses.
