Abstract
Given the peculiarities of mobile computer-supported collaborative learning (MCSCL) environments, forming suitable groups in such learning environments represents a hard and time-consuming task. This is because many conditions related to mobile learners, devices, and environment should be considered. Unlike the existing solutions, the present paper shows a grouping approach that allows a customizable formation of (1) homogeneous groups, (2) heterogeneous groups, and (3) mixed groups. The proposed solution does not only help instructors to dynamically form appropriate MCSCL groups, but it also allows to continually control the learners' learning, psychological, and social developments. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed solution, three metrics were used: (1) comparison between the characteristics of the existing group formation tools, (2) average intra-cluster distance of each grouping algorithm, and (3) an experimental evaluation in a real world environment. The obtained results show a great superiority of the proposed solution compared to the existing ones.
Highlights
Collaborative learning (CL) is a process in which two or more learners work together to achieve certain common learning objectives
A suitable group formation mechanism should not be specific for certain types of learners or learning, but it should be useful for different learning objectives, needs, and scenarios
One of the advantages of the proposed group formation solution resides in its capacity to provide instructors with a customizable tool, which could be used for different learning situations
Summary
Collaborative learning (CL) is a process in which two or more learners work together to achieve certain common learning objectives. The main challenge of this study is to provide the MCSCL community with a new automatic, dynamic, and customizable group formation solution that could enhance the learning, psychological, and social development of learners To well achieve this objective, the following research questions should be clearly answered:. A suitable group formation mechanism should not be specific for certain types of learners or learning, but it should be useful for different learning objectives, needs, and scenarios To reach this goal, the proposed tool is developed to be used in different situations. One of the advantages of the proposed group formation solution resides in its capacity to provide instructors with a customizable tool, which could be used for different learning situations To achieve this objective, the authors considered the three possible kinds of grouping: (a) homogeneous grouping, (b) heterogeneous grouping, (c) mixed grouping. To form the groups in steps 2, 3 and 4, the homogeneous and heterogeneous algorithms are followed
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