Friendship and collaborative creative writing in the primary classroom

Abstract A case study is reported investigating the nature of paired talk and the role of friendship in collaborative creative writing activities. This forms the initial phase of a larger research project driven by socio-cultural theory, studying the beneficial effects of friendship pairing and the role of the computer tool in the development of creative writing skills. The joint poem writing episodes of four 8-year-old girls, one friendship and one acquaintance pair, were observed on a number of occasions during a two-week long literacy project. The observations were of ongoing classroom activities in the IT suite and in the literacy classroom of their school; the observed children worked alongside the rest of the class in their natural context. It was predicted that there would be differences between the two pairs in terms of the process and the outcome of their collaborations which could be explained by the differences in their respective relationships. To investigate such differences (if any), a 'functional model' of discourse analysis was used, developed specifically for the context of collaborative creative writing. It is claimed that the proposed model is useful to describe discourse patterns characteristic of paired writing and to identify productive discourse styles in this specific setting. It helps to understand how the collaborating writers engage in talk to cope with the demands of the task, and how they use discourse to support different phases of the joint writing process.     

Pupils' recall of an interactive storybook on CD-ROM

Abstract This small-scale study compares two groups of Year 4 (8/9 year-old) pupils either reading or playing an interactive storybook . The study considered pupils' recall of propositions, which formed the story setting and episodes, and of micro-propositions and characters' names, and pupils' responses to inferential items derived from the 'interactive storybook'. The study indicates that, whether reading or playing, pupils' recall of the story setting was sound, but pupils who had read the interactive storybook demonstrated greater recall of the story event structure than those who had engaged in interactive picture-play. Pupils who had played the interactive storybook demonstrated significantly greater recall of micro-propositions and names.     

Computer access and student achievement in the early school years

Abstract This study examines the assumption that optimal learning occurs in classrooms where every child has access to their own computer. Grades 1 to 4 classrooms in seven schools of an urban school district were given laptop computers in three different student-to-computer ratios (1 : 1, 2 : 1, 4 : 1). Throughout the school year three samples of student writing were taken at equal intervals and classrooms were regularly observed. Writing samples were also collected from control classrooms in the same schools that did not have access to computers. A mancova analysis of holistic ratings of writing samples revealed that by the end of the school year students in the 2 : 1 ratio classrooms improved significantly more than their counterparts in the other groups; the control group students demonstrated the least improvement, while the 1 : 1 and 4 : 1 groups showed intermediate levels of improvement. The study concludes by questioning the long-range efforts at equipping schools with one computer for every student.     

Virtual peers as partners in storytelling and literacy learning

Abstract   Literacy learning — learning how to read and write — begins long before children enter school. One of the key skills to reading and writing is the ability to represent thoughts symbolically and share them in language with an audience who may not necessarily share the same temporal and spatial context. Children learn and practice these important language skills everyday, telling stories with the peers and adults around them. In particular, storytelling in the context of peer collaboration provides a key environment for children to learn language skills important for literacy. In light of this, an embodied conversational agent, Sam , who tells stories collaboratively with children was designed. Sam looks like a peer for pre-school children, but tells stories in a developmentally advanced way, modelling narrative skills important for literacy. Results demonstrated that children who played with the virtual peer told stories that more closely resembled the virtual peer's linguistically advanced stories: using more quoted speech and temporal and spatial expressions. In addition, children listened to Sam's stories carefully, assisting her and suggesting improvements. The potential benefits of having technology play a social role in young children's literacy learning is discussed.     

Developing and evaluating dialogue games for collaborative e–learning

Abstract This paper argues that developments in collaborative e-learning dialogue should be based on pedagogically sound principles of discourse, and therefore, by implication, there is a need to develop methodologies which transpose — typically informal — models of educational dialogue into cognitive tools that are suitable for students. A methodology of 'investigation by design' is described which has been used to design computer-based dialogue games supporting conceptual change and development in science — based on the findings of empirical studies. An evaluation of two dialogue games for collaborative interaction, a facilitating game and an elicit-inform game, has shown that they produce significant improvements in students conceptual understanding, and they are differentially successful — depending on the nature of the conceptual difficulties experienced by the learners. The implications this study has for the role of collaborative dialogue in learning and designing computer-based and computer–mediated collaborative interaction are discussed.     

A review of web-based collaborative learning: factors beyond technology

Abstract Web-based collaborative learning has a large potential for knowledge acquisition. However, it has different characteristics compared with conventional learning scenarios; especially with respect to the social communication situation, message exchange, cognitive load and participation of the learners. To cope with possible problems resulting from these characteristics suitable instructional means have to be considered, like collaborative learning methods, on-line moderation, appropriate learning tasks or computer-based visualisation tools.     

Coordination processes in computer supported collaborative writing

In the COSAR-project a computer-supported collaborative learning environment enables students to collaborate in writing an argumentative essay. The TC3 groupware environment (TC3: Text Composer, Computer supported and Collaborative) offers access to relevant information sources, a private notepad, a chat facility including a chat history, and a shared word-processor. Planning tools for writing – a shared argumentation diagram for content generation and a shared outline facility for content linearization – were added to the basic TC3 environment. About 145 pairs of high school students completed essays on organ donation or cloning in the TC3 environment. We analyzed the logged discussion (‘chats’) and activity protocols for task-related processes present during discussion and collaboration. Processes looked into are planning, gathering information and composing the essay, as well as collaborative processes such as coordinating, turn taking and time management. Our main research question is how task-related planning activities and collaborative coordination with or without the help of planning tools relate to the quality of the resulting argumentative texts. Overall coordination and planning of the writing activities on a meta-level and on a content level were found to be crucial for the quality of the text.     

The use of hypertext in the writing of group papers

Abstract The Virtual Constructing Tool (VCT) was developed at the Nijmegen School of Management in 1998. The VCT is intended to facilitate the process of writing group papers through the use of construction and communication tools and is based completely on the Internet. The VCT allows a paper to be structured by means of hyperlinking and cooperation between students. Students are allowed to divide tasks, but they are held responsible for the quality of the arguments in the paper as a whole. They are invited to spend time in dealing with validity claims and in building a valid train of thought. Producing a group paper includes four interrelated working processes: exploring the subject, exchanging information, arguing and discussing and editing. Hyperlinking offers a contribution in each of these processes which varies from associative linking of pieces of information to strengthening linear structuring. Therefore, a different perspective has been taken to that of those authors who consider hyperlinking as a tool par excellence for the nonlinear production of information.     

A multimedia-enhanced collaborative learning environment

Abstract The proliferation of the Internet has brought about the notion of online virtual communities. One enabling technology for online communities is multiuser environments such as Multi-User Dimensions (MUDs) and Object-Oriented MUDS (MOOs). These text-based collaborative learning environments have recently have been integrated with the World Wide Web, thus harnessing the graphics and multimedia-rich environments available therein. Learners can directly experience, manipulate, and create objects in their rich multimedia form. MUDs and MOOs are augmented with synchronous collaboration technology that provided simultaneous control and viewing of shared documents and applications. In this paper, we describe a multimedia-enhanced MOO system called SpaceALIVE! and our experiences from a pilot project involving Singapore students who use SpaceALIVE! as a collaborative learning environment are reported.     

Implementing collaborative learning activities in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing: A design-based process

Mobile devices such as PDAs, smartphones and tablet computers are becoming increasingly popular, setting out opportunities for new ways of communicating and collaborating. Research initiatives have ascertained the potential of mobile devices in education, and particularly, the benefits of incorporating them in the classroom for eliciting collaborative learning and active student participation. However, the development of technology-supported learning environments poses challenges to education researchers, practitioners, and software technologists in creating educational tools that respond to real needs of instructors and learners, meet clearly defined didactic purposes, and are practical for the intended audience. This article reports on a technology for facilitating the implementation of collaborative learning environments in the classroom supported by one-to-one mobile computing. The approach encompasses a framework supporting the design and implementation of the mobile software, and a design-based process that guides interdisciplinary efforts utilizing the framework, towards creating effective pedagogical models based on collaborative learning. The proposed design-based process allowed us to develop pedagogical models that respond to real needs of learners and instructors, where development is grounded on rigorous scientific research, allowing to reuse both knowledge and software, and showing an improvement of the mobile software built based on continuous experimentation and evaluation. A case study illustrating the application of the technology is presented and plans for future research are discussed.