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Recent concern in the developmental psychology literature with peer facilitation of children's learning is matched by a corresponding concern in the cognitive science literature with user‐user interactions in the context of computer use. A study is reported in which 11‐year‐old children (N = 39) worked over three successive sessions on a problem‐solving task making heavy demands on planning and information handling, implemented in HyperCard. Children worked on the computer either in pairs or individually on the first two sessions, and all worked individually on the third. By the second session, the performance of the pairs was significantly superior to that of the individuals. On the final session, with a slightly modified task, those who had previously worked in pairs showed a substantial advantage. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.

In an effort to restore quality and flexibility to the tutorial provision on some undergraduate courses, first, second and third year psychology students at the University of Southampton have been inducted into the use of ‘skywriting’ as a medium for learning support. Email messages from students and tutors, primarily focussed on issues arising from the course content, are directed to a course list so that all participants receive them; both tutors and students may reply to these. The course tutor maintains a Web‐based archive of threaded discussions by the occasional modification of message subject lines. Within this archive, the exchanges can be searched and read by theme, by participant, or by date. This provision is in addition to the usual lectures and face‐to‐face tutorial meetings. This paper examines students’ participation in skywriting on three courses. Participation is examined in relation to gender, and to attitudes and experience with computers. Levels of contribution to face‐to‐face tutorials and to skywriting are compared, and their relation to students’ learning styles is explored.

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