Computer‐supported cooperative learning in a Virtual University

English, Susan; Yazdani, Masoud

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2729.1999.151071.x

Cited by 46 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The capacity to enable these processes has been recognised as a feature of successful web based environments in several recent studies (English & Yazdani, 1999). For example, Collis (1998) McLoughlin 229 describes the adoption of group based project work wherein groups work together to share responsibility for solving complex tasks.…”

Section: Aim Of the Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

Computer supported teamwork: An integrative approach to evaluating cooperative learning in an online environment

McLoughlin

2002

AJET

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Existing teaching-learning arrangements in many online courses may not offer sufficient scope for off campus and on campus students to work collaboratively. Tasks that support collaboration online, goal sharing and collaborative decision making provide computer programming students with experiential learning, replicating how they will work on completion of university study and when entering the professional world. This study describes the initial implementation and evaluation of an online environment designed to support a collaborative programming task. A holistic, context based approach to evaluating the success of the innovation is documented, together with the framework used for conducting the evaluation. The approach to evaluation is integrative and holistic, seeking multiple forms of evidence for collaboration, engagement and improved learning and teaching. In addition, the study outlines decisions that have to be faced by practitioners in supporting online collaborative skills and carrying through an evaluation of an initial implementation. Aim of the paperThe aim of this article is to evaluate the initial implementation of an online learning task requiring small teams of undergraduate students to collaborate in the creation of a computer program. The design of the learning environment is described in addition to the approach and methodology for evaluating both learning processes and learning outcomes. Implications for evaluations of future implementations of the learning task are discussed. The evaluation of this innovation formed part of the CUTSD Project Staff development in evaluation of technology based teaching development projects: An action inquiry approach, and made extensive use of the handbook and framework for evaluation developed for the project by Phillips et al (2000). 228 Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 2002, 18(2) Theoretical framing for collaborative online learning Development of personal transferable skills required for the professions includes integration of theoretical and practical knowledge, communication skills, reflection on one's own knowledge and management of self, others and information (Taylor, 1997;Oliver & McLoughlin, 2001). The latter skill includes the capacity to share ideas and work collaboratively. Educational practice in general and the pedagogies that are applied in higher education are not well attuned to the development of professional expertise (Barnett, 1994). Often the design of curricula, the planning of learning activities and the forms of assessment mean that students tend to develop inert knowledge, not readily transferable to the complexities of professional life. In real life contexts, experts work in teams, share knowledge, apply it, revise and transform it through discussion, application and analysis. Tertiary pedagogy, in contrast, often values independent study and achievement. In the design of learning tasks, skills and knowledge are often decontextualised and transferable, while generic skills are not accorded sufficient emphasis....

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Section: Aim Of the Papermentioning

confidence: 99%

Computer supported teamwork: An integrative approach to evaluating cooperative learning in an online environment

McLoughlin

2002

AJET

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“…Computer mediated communication (CMC) tools, such as conferencing, email and discussion forums support the communication needs for the task roles of team projects, examples of their use are given in English and Yazdani (1999) and Hendson (1997). The facilities included in Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) give students the capability to communicate with each other and the tutors, and are based to a large extent on the facilities incorporated in Groupware products, which in turn have been developed as a result of research into Computer Supported Cooperative Working (CSCW) (Connolly, 1994).…”

Section: Students Working On Team Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Agent System to Support Student Teams Working Online

Whatley

2004

JITE:Research

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Executive SummaryOnline learning is now a reality, with distributed learning and blended learning becoming more widely used in Higher Education. Novel ways in which undergraduate and postgraduate learning material can be presented are being developed, and methods for helping students to learn online are needed, especially if we require them to collaborate with each other on learning activities. Agents to provide a supporting role for students have evolved from Artificial Intelligence research, and their strength lies in their ease of operation over networks as well as their ability to act in response to stimuli.In this paper an application of a software agent is described, aimed at supporting students working on team projects in the online learning environment. Online teamwork is problematical for a number of reasons, such as getting acquainted with team members, finding out about other team members' abilities, agreeing who should do which tasks, communications between team members and keeping up to date with progress that has been made on the project. Software agents have the ability to monitor progress and to offer advice by operating in the background, acting autonomously when the need arises. An agent prototype has been developed in Prolog to perform a limited set of functions to support students. Team projects have a planning, doing and completing stage, all of which require them to have some sort of agent support. This agent at present supports part of the planning stage, by prompting the students to input their likes, dislikes and abilities for a selection of task areas defined for the project. The agent then allocates the various tasks to the students according to predetermined rules.The results of a trial carried out using teams working on projects, on campus, indicate that students like the idea of using this agent to help with allocating tasks. They also agreed that agent support of this type would probably be helpful to both students working on team projects with face to face contact, as well as for teams working solely online. Work is ongoing to add more functionality to the agent and to evaluate the agent more widely.

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“…Computer mediated communication (CMC) tools, such as conferencing, email and discussion forums support the communication needs for the task roles of team projects, examples of their use are given in (English and Yazdani, 1998) and (Hendson, 1997). The facilities included in Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) give students the capability to communicate with each other and the tutors, and are based to a large extent on the facilities incorporated in Groupware produc ts, which in turn have been deve loped as a result of research into Computer Supported Cooperative Working (CSCW) (Connolly, 1994).…”

Section: Students Working On Team Projectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Agent System to Support Student Teams Working Online

Whatley¹

2003

InSITE Conference

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In this paper an application of software agents is described, aimed at supporting students working on team projects in the online situation. Online teamwork is problematical for a number of reasons, such as getting acquainted with team members, communications between members and knowing what progress has been made on the project. Software agents have the ability to monitor progress and offer advice by operating in the background to act autonomously when the need arises. An agent prototype has been developed to perform a limited set of functions to support students, and the results of a trial carried out using teams working on projects are discussed.

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Computer‐supported cooperative learning in a Virtual University

Cited by 46 publications

References 2 publications

Computer supported teamwork: An integrative approach to evaluating cooperative learning in an online environment

Computer supported teamwork: An integrative approach to evaluating cooperative learning in an online environment

An Agent System to Support Student Teams Working Online

An Agent System to Support Student Teams Working Online

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