Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Tools Research Articles

Undergraduate students’ views about peer mentoring as a tool to enhance computer-supported collaborative learning

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) pedagogies, platforms, and tools are prevalent in higher education due to their pervasive capabilities to enhance students’ engagement, communication, and learning. However, it is reported that CSCL tools, media, and platforms may not yield the desired results if not planned, utilized, and managed strategically. Facilitating students’ learning through CSCL may require a non-hierarchical approach, such as peer mentoring, for sustainably valuable outcomes. Using this approach successfully will also require contextual diagnostic analysis and exploration. This study was, therefore, conducted to explore the means to effectively deploy peer mentoring to enhance CSCL involving 227 undergraduate students in an Emirati university. Data were collected using a questionnaire with quantitative and qualitative elements. Data analyses were done using descriptive statistics and thematic coding. Findings show that students are well-disposed to peer mentoring as a measure for enhancing CSCL regardless of their demographic characteristics, as they could learn from each other and develop transferrable skills. However, students indicated that the process could be challenging with language barriers, technological issues, and distractions. Even so, the findings show that peer mentoring in CSCL could be enhanced with students’ participation in the exercise made voluntary and the availability of different CSCL platforms, among others.

Using zoom as a computer-supported collaborative learning tool: modeling of relations between technology acceptance, knowledge-sharing behaviours, community of inquiry, and social interaction space

ABSTRACT This research, students’ technology acceptance, KSB, community of inquiry (CoI), and social interaction space situations were examined in collaborative learning where Zoom was used as a CSCL tool in computer programming courses, and the structural relationships between these variables were revealed. The research was carried out on 162 university students studying in the field of computer science education and taking computer programming courses through flipped learning. Within the scope of the research, the students were divided into CSCL groups of three and carried out collaborative learning. The study was carried out according to the correlational research method, and path analysis was performed. Research findings for the CSCL activities carried out in the Zoom environment has been determined that technology acceptance, KSB, CoI, and social interaction space are at a high level. According to the results of the research, it has been seen that the technology acceptance status of the students in the CSCL environment has a direct and high impact on the KSB, CoI, and social interaction space. In addition, it was found that the increase in students’ social interaction space perceptions in the CSCL process has a direct effect on CoI.

User anonymity versus identification in computer-supported collaborative learning: Comparing learners' preferences and behaviors

Previous research on the effect of anonymity on computer-supported collaborative learning has reported mostly positive results, as well as some negative results. Scholars have indicated that anonymity can promote more participation among members; however, it can also promote off-task behavior and spam. Although the concept has been investigated in different contexts (peer assessment, writing, debating, etc.) and from different perspectives (for example, social psychology, computer mediated communication), students' preferences and whether these preferences align with students' actual behavior during collaborative learning remain uncertain. In this study, we compared students' opinions with their technology-mediated conversations when they collaborated while anonymized versus while identified. Our results were derived from a survey and content analysis of conversation logs that included 186 university students. These findings suggest that anonymity promotes a less productive atmosphere, though students seem to prefer it. We present our findings about how anonymity affects the quantity and quality of collaboration, a group's work balance, and spam messages' role, among other factors. Moreover, we contribute new knowledge about the social component of the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE). Finally, we propose new features for computer-supported collaborative learning tools that could help optimize anonymity to maximize its potential benefits.

Identifying the Structure of CSCL Conversations Using String Kernels

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning tools are exhibiting an increased popularity in education, as they allow multiple participants to easily communicate, share knowledge, solve problems collaboratively, or seek advice. Nevertheless, multi-participant conversation logs are often hard to follow by teachers due to the mixture of multiple and many times concurrent discussion threads, with different interaction patterns between participants. Automated guidance can be provided with the help of Natural Language Processing techniques that target the identification of topic mixtures and of semantic links between utterances in order to adequately observe the debate and continuation of ideas. This paper introduces a method for discovering such semantic links embedded within chat conversations using string kernels, word embeddings, and neural networks. Our approach was validated on two datasets and obtained state-of-the-art results on both. Trained on a relatively small set of conversations, our models relying on string kernels are very effective for detecting such semantic links with a matching accuracy larger than 50% and represent a better alternative to complex deep neural networks, frequently employed in various Natural Language Processing tasks where large datasets are available.

Evaluation of accessibility barriers and learning features in m-learning chat applications for users with disabilities

Chat applications are being used for more than one decade in learning environments as a useful computer-supported collaborative learning tool. However, some of the chat applications used are not appropriated for learning purposes. On the other hand, previous studies have detected that unfortunately nowadays some students still face accessibility barriers when using chat applications, and, as a result, they cannot learn under the same conditions and equality opportunities than their classmates. This paper presents a comparison of chat applications’ features and functionalities of the top three most used and non-commercial learning content management systems nowadays, namely Moodle, Edmodo, and Instructure. The paper studies which of them provide advantage in learning environments based on UDL guidelines. In addition, a heuristic accessibility evaluation of the chat applications was carried out based on the WCAG 2.0 guidelines. Finally, some recommendations are provided to improve or build new inclusive chat applications for learning environments. After conducting the study, it can be concluded that the application that includes most learning characteristics is the Edmodo chat application. In contrast, the application that includes most features to avoid accessibility barriers is Moodle chat application.

Online computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) for engineering students: A case study in Malaysia

ABSTRACTComputer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) via online is an emerging paradigm of educational technology where people can learn together with the help of computer and its related applications. CSCL has become an important and appealing mode of learning across disciplines including engineering. Teamwork is one of the most important elements in engineering profession and collaborative learning is a natural choice for engineering education since it cultivates team among students. This study aims to better understand the adoption of CSCL using Google Docs among engineering students and its relationship with students' attitude toward computer for learning, prior experience of using CSCL tool—Google Docs‐ and students' different learning styles. The outcomes of this investigation suggest that students' attitude toward computer for learning and prior experience have a significant relationship with the students' adoption of CSCL. At the same time, students' different learning styles did not have any impact on the adoption of CSCL in their learning process. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:352–362, 2015; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21605

Management of socio-cultural knowledge using an ontology-based socio-cultural user profile in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is a pedagogical approach wherein learning takes place via social interaction using a computer or through the Internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and construction of knowledge among participants. This knowledge is shared through communication technologies embedded in CSCL systems. However in the context of globalization and the expansion of the internet and Information Technology (IT), communication becomes intercultural, so a complex and important dimension is added to CSCL and brings a new type of knowledge, socio-cultural knowledge, that needs to be shared and then presents new challenges. Therefore, in intercultural collaborative learning settings, we need to get and ensure better interaction, to get better learning. Better interaction is reached by promoting motivation to learn in groups, and this is obtained by enhancing user satisfaction which is achieved by the development of tailored CSCL tools to each user according to her socio-cultural background. Adapting the CSCL system to the culture of each participant will allow and facilitate group decision-making in the collaborative learning activity, as we take into account socio-cultural specificities of each learner, this latter will be more comfortable with the system and the other learners, and can collaborate with them to make decisions about the collaborative solution. So this article addresses the challenges started up by this context, which is how to consider socio-cultural specificities of each learner.

Educational change in Oman: a design research study of personal, institutional, and societal reactions to collaborative knowledge building

While collaborative problem-solving has been suggested as a solution for linking classroom learning with workforce skills, it is still not entirely clear how personal, institutional, and national factors work together to influence student and teacher acceptance of this pedagogical strategy. Oman provides an appropriate case for exploring this intersection, as previously limited technology and an instructivist education tradition bump up against the demand for rapid educational improvement and economic development. This study focused on the cultural aspects that affect adoption of a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment, and how adaptations appeared in the students, the teacher, and the course. An education design research methodology was used to examine how students react to the CSCL framework and tools.

Perspectives on Tools for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is a research field which emerged during the past 20 years. The research addressed questions in CSCL including – among others - how groups and individuals learn through peer interaction using specific tools, how small groups interact and develop shared meanings over time, how teachers orchestrate collaborative learning activities in the classroom with the support of technology, how institutions change and create new conditions for teaching and learning, and even how the opportunities for learning change as society adopts new models for education. Following the constructivistic and socio-cultural approaches in learning, numerous CSCL tools have been designed, developed and tested over the years. Although they can be classified in various ways, the distinction between systemic and dialogic types of tools and approaches is adopted in this paper. Following this categorization, four interesting research approaches, each focusing on a different kind of computer mediated tool are presented, designating the diversity of research within the CSCL field.

Exploring relationship between students’ questioning behaviors and inquiry tasks in an online forum through analysis of ideational function of questions

In this study we explored questioning behaviors among elementary students engaging in inquiry science using the Knowledge Forum, a computer-supported collaborative learning tool. Adapting the theory of systemic functional linguistics, we developed the Ideational Function of Question (IFQ) analytical framework by means of inductive analysis of the questions found in 10 online forums contributed by three classes of Year 4 elementary school students and their teachers. We found 25 categories of questions which we grouped into three main kinds: Scientific, Epistemological, and Meta-discoursal. We then narrowed our analysis to three forums involving digestive systems. Using the IFQ framework, we explored the relationship between nature of inquiry task and students’ questioning behaviors. Our analysis shows that for close-ended task that sought scientific facts from authoritative sources, students tended to ask only scientific questions. For open-ended problem-solving task that demanded epistemic justification from the students, there was more even distribution in all three kinds of questions.

Lessons Learned from Comprehensive Deployments of Multiagent CSCL Applications I-MINDS and ClassroomWiki

Recent years have seen a surge in the use of intelligent computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) tools for improving student learning in traditional classrooms. However, adopting such a CSCL tool in a classroom still requires the teacher to develop (or decide on which to adopt) the CSCL tool and the CSCL script, design the relevant pedagogical aspects (i.e., the learning objectives, assessment method, etc.) to overcome the associated challenges (e.g., free riding, student assessment, forming student groups that improve student learning, etc). We have used a multiagent-based system to develop a CSCL application and multiagent-frameworks to form student groups that improve student collaborative learning. In this paper, we describe the contexts of our three generations of CSCL applications (i.e., I-MINDS and ClassroomWiki) and provide a set of lessons learned from our deployments in terms of the script, tool, and pedagogical aspects of using CSCL. We believe that our lessons would allow 1) the instructors and students to use intelligent CSCL applications more effectively and efficiently, and help to improve the design of such systems, and 2) the researchers to gain additional insights into the impact of collaborative learning theories when they are applied to real-world classrooms.

Individual and team annotation effects on students’ reading comprehension, critical thinking, and meta-cognitive skills

Many students enter college without the needed skills to be successful. Colleges and universities are seeking instructional interventions to address these needs. Various classes are leveraging web-based social media to provide new instructional technologies that will help students learn. This paper reports on two studies related to the potential of online social annotation for improving teaching and learning in second-semester Freshman English classes. The approach, referred to as the Social Annotation Model-Learning System (SAM-LS), combines various instructional strategies, team-based learning, and a social annotation computer-supported collaborative learning tool, HyLighter, to increase student engagement with selected essays and with classmates. SAM-LS stimulates students to actively monitor their thoughts and compare them to both peers and the instructor (or domain experts). Study 1 showed no significant difference between the SAM-LS approach and a control; however, results appear to be related to confounding factors. Study 2 showed that students achieve better outcomes on measures of reading comprehension and meta-cognitive skill, but not critical thinking, when SAM-LS activities include small team collaborations. The two studies suggest future directions for research and development of SAM-LS and the HyLighter tool.

From handheld collaborative tool to effective classroom module: Embedding CSCL in a broader design framework

The field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) includes designers who emphasize effectiveness, measured via experiments, as well as designers who emphasize context and conduct qualitative research on teaching and learning practices. We conjectured that these two different emphases could be fruitful combined in a research and development process aimed at producing effective CSCL practices. We explored this possibility in a project that adapted a CSCL tool from Chile to serve as the basis of an effective 3-week classroom module for primary school mathematics in the United States. To go from tool to module, we addressed curricular fit, training materials, pedagogical guidance, formative and summative assessments, and logistical support. In conducting the project, we found that effectiveness and contextual research could be conducted simultaneously and yielded complementary insight to this design process, which enabled our project to rapidly move from the base tool towards complete classroom modules. An experiment we conducted after our design iterations showed that students who used the modules learned more about the target content, fractions. A retrospective analysis of our design process suggests that the Integrative Learning Design framework is useful for organizing the complementary components of effectiveness and contextual research in our design process.

Supporting students’ participation in authentic proof activities in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments

In this paper, I review both mathematics education and CSCL literature and discuss how we can better take advantage of CSCL tools for developing mathematical proof skills. I introduce a model of proof in school mathematics that incorporates both empirical and deductive ways of knowing. I argue that two major forces have given rise to this conception of proving: a particular learning perspective promoted in reform documents and a genre of computer tools, namely dynamic geometry software, which affords this perspective of learning within the context of mathematical proof. Tracing the move from absolutism to fallibilism in the philosophy of mathematics, I highlight the vital role of community in the production of mathematical knowledge. This leads me to an examination of a certain CSCL tool whose design is guided by knowledge-building pedagogy. I argue that knowledge building is a suitable pedagogical approach for the proof model presented in this paper. Furthermore, I suggest software modifications that will better support learners’ participation in authentic proof tasks.

Towards a Web Platform for Collaborative Learning Practice, Evaluation and Dissemination

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) tool adoption is slow and challenging when compared to the dissemination of simpler content delivery systems. The lack of technical and pedagogical expertise, concrete training, and effective support for teachers are some reasons that explain the current situation. This paper proposes a technological approach for making CSCL practice, evaluation and dissemination easier. In this approach, a powerful workflow-enabled web platform hosts virtual communities of volunteer teachers and CSCL specialists. The platform supports participants for designing collective learning processes that integrate CSCL tools, executing and tutoring them, analyzing their results and debating all related technical and pedagogical issues.

Fostering scientific inquiry in schools through science research course and Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)

This study focused on fostering students' scientific inquiry skills through Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) in K-12 classrooms through a science research course complemented with Knowledge Forum (a CSCL tool). The subjects were 71 secondary one (7th grade) students in a Singapore school. The Test for Integrated Process Skills II (TIPS II) developed by Burns et al. (1985) was administered before and after the treatment so as to compare the students' scientific inquiry skills. Qualitative analysis of the students' discourse was used to derive possible reasons and processes leading to the observed outcomes. The results showed that the treatment enhanced the students' scientific inquiry skills, especially in the area of identifying variables and stating hypothesis. Possible contributing factors to the results include provision of scaffolding and students' characteristics such as direct engagement with scientific problems and recognition of self as epistemic agent.

Using lesson video clips via multipoint desktop video conferencing to facilitate reflective practice

Rapid technological development in computer video conferencing over the last decade makes it easier than ever for teacher educators to use the technology in facilitating reflective practice. As a computer-supported collaborative learning tool, computer video conferencing provides increasing opportunities for student teachers to share experiences across time and space. This article describes a Singapore experience in which lesson video clips were streamed via multipoint desktop video conferencing for pre-service teacher education. The experience provided opportunities for the professional development of the student teachers by allowing them to share ideas, experiences and teaching resources in real time with an audience wider than the schools where they taught.

Computer supported collaborative learning for curriculum integration

Computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has the potential for significantly improving undergraduate education. However, there are many challenges for institutions, instructors and students in achieving effective collaboration that actually improves learning. Two of the most critical are achieving teacher buy-in and motivating students to participate in a knowledge-building community. We have developed a new CSCL tool whose flexibility is inspiring good teachers to create exciting new collaborative learning activities, and whose persistence is an enticement to students. We are now attempting to use this tool to leverage a particular kind of educational reform goal: achieving integration across curricular boundaries.