An online collaborative document creation exercise in an ODL research project module

Online technologies to support collaborative learning provide lecturers in distance higher education with ever more opportunities to extend their teaching in beneficial ways. Students are also increasingly familiar with the online environment via social networking sites. How well this familiarity with online environments translates into the online collaborative learning space in an open distance learning context was examined. We report here on one cycle of an action research project involving 11 fourth-year computing students producing shared survey questionnaires and interview questions collaboratively online. Feedback on the collaboration exercise was obtained by means of a questionnaire which was analysed using grounded theory techniques. The expectation was that collaborative text creation software would be used but somewhat surprisingly, given their academic background, the students used email as the tool of choice. The students' reflections on the collaborative process showed that they noted and appreciated the benefits of collaborative work but also confirmed some of the previously reported frustrations of online collaborative work – in particular differences in levels of commitment and effort, and the free rider effect. Overall, the results pointed to the need for lecturers to be involved in a collaborative process to critically question and guide choices being made.     

Where is the evidence? A meta-analysis on the role of argumentation for the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge in computer-supported collaborative learning

This meta-analysis investigated the role of the quality of argumentation for domain-specific knowledge gains in computer-supported collaborative learning settings. Given the scarcity of primary studies that report correlations between these two variables, a meta-regression approach was employed that uses interventions' effects on argumentation to predict their effects on domain-specific knowledge. Effect sizes for 17 comparisons extracted from 12 studies were included in the analysis using a random-effects model. Moderator analyses concerning type of argumentation measure, type of knowledge test, and type of intervention were conducted. The interventions had a statistically significant small to moderate mean effect (d = 0.39) on argumentation, which varied as a function of the type of argumentation measure employed. The mean effect of the interventions on domain-specific knowledge (d = 0.22) appeared to be non-existent (d = 0.00) on the basis of the whole sample of studies, and small at best after the exclusion of three outlying effect sizes from one study. With respect to the relation of the studies' effects on argumentation to their effects on domain-specific knowledge, no unequivocal picture emerges: After the exclusion of the three outliers, the regression coefficient for predicting the studies' effects on domain-specific knowledge on the basis of their effects on argumentation was b = −0.08 and statistically not significant. These findings constitute a challenge for the broadly shared theoretical assumption that argumentation mediates the effects of interventions on domain-specific knowledge. A set of recommendations for strengthening future research on the topic is presented.     

一种基于知识点结构的分布式协同学习一致性模型分析

现代远程教育是基于互联网和终端实现教学活动,协同学习是提高远程学习效能感的重要方式,需要深入研究基于协同学习语义的一致性维护、协同感知等关键技术,以达到足够高效的、自然的互动化及个性化学习。提出一种远程教育特点下协同学习的一致性模型及算法分析,在此模型基础上,形成基于知识点结构的特有的操作转换算法来保持一致性。     

Web学习环境中混合协同机制的研究

针对当前基于Web的教学系统设计中协同机制的优势和不足,深入分析和讨论了当前计算机支持的协作学习技术的应用和发展,基于CSCW理论提出了教学系统设计中混合协同机制的应用方法和策略,并基于混合协同机制完成了一个远程教学应用系统的设计,充分说明了多策略协同在Web学习系统设计中的有效性和重要意义。     

一个基于多代理系统的CSCL中间件

移动设备(如手机)由于屏幕小、带宽有限等因素一直在CSCL领域难有作为。该文利用代理的智能、协作等特性,结合一个已有的CSCL应用平台,设计了一种基于多代理系统的CSCL中间什模型。该模型能够根据用户移动设备的显示性能,个性化处理已有的HTML文档,基本满足学习者对课件的访问,并协助移动用户使用CSCL应用平台,与其它协同学习者交流与合作。     

在CSCW合作应用管理机制下的协同学习系统

文章探讨了CSCW应用在WEB环境下的群体协同机制，分析了其基本的协作方式，并据此提出了一种面向协同学习的应用模型。     

基于扩展的Granott相互作用模式的移动协同学习模型研究

传统的移动协同学习模型的研究和架构都是从技术的角度提出,而忽略了协同过程中学习者相互作用的社会性对其的影响程度。首先在经典Granott模型的基础上研究了一种扩展的Granott相互作用模式,然后提出了一种基于扩展的Granott相互作用模式的移动协同学习模型,并对其中的Granott驱动逻辑对象进行了形式化算法描述,最后通过原型系统对模型进行了验证和实现。模型支持移动学习者基于扩展的Granott相互作用模式获取协同过程中同伴的协同行为,从而有效地完成协同学习工作。     

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.     

Collaborative learning with a wiki: Differences in perceived usefulness in two contexts of use

This paper investigates the potential of a wiki (FlexWiki) to support collaborative authoring of web resources in authentic coursework by two different sets of education students at different stages of their professional development. Research questions included: (1) how the selected wiki could be blended with curriculum activities and existing technologies to complete collaborative tasks; (2) student and tutor expectations concerning collaborative learning and whether these expectations were met; (3) the barriers and enablers of using the wiki and perceptions of the task‐technology fit. Key findings included that tutors and students were able to use the wiki to complete tasks; tutors and students were positive about learning outcomes but collaboration was not as co‐constructive as hoped for; there were tensions between expectations of collaboration and assessment practices that affected how students collaborated; differences between participants in their group interaction, degree of co‐presence and familiarity with technology led to differences in perceptions of usefulness and actual wiki use; and version‐tracking data from the wiki proved unreliable on its own for gaining insights into actual collaborative processes. These findings suggest the importance of considering detailed local contexts of use when deciding to adopt new tools for supporting collaboration.     

The effects of animations on verbal interaction in computer supported collaborative learning

Abstract This paper focuses on the interaction patterns of learners studying in pairs who were provided with multimedia learning material. In a previous article, we reported that learning scores were higher for dyads of an ‘animations’ condition than for dyads of a ‘static pictures’ condition. Results also showed that offering a persistent display of one snapshot of each animated sequence hindered collaborative learning. In the present paper, further analyses of verbal interactions within learning dyads were performed in order to have a better understanding of both the beneficial effect of animations and the detrimental effect of the presence of persistent snapshots of critical steps on collaborative learning. Results did not show any differences in terms of verbal categories between the two versions of the instructional material, that is, static versus animated pictures. Pairs who were provided with persistent snapshots of the multimedia sequences produced fewer utterances compared to participants without the snapshots. In addition, the persistent snapshots were detrimental both in terms of providing information about the learning content and in terms of producing utterances solely for the purpose of managing the interaction. In this study, evidence also showed that these two verbal categories were positively related to learning performances. Finally, mediation analyses revealed that the negative effect of persistent snapshots was mediated by the fact that peers of the snapshots condition produced less information providing and interaction management utterances. Results are interpreted using a psycholinguistic framework applied to computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) literature and general guidelines are derived for the use of dynamic material and persistency tools in the design of CSCL environments.