From mindtools to social mindtools: Collaborative writing with Woven Stories

Abstract

The rapid development of computer-supported collaborative environments has highlighted the need for collaborative knowledge construction devices. Because most available mindtools do not promote collaboration, there is a need for social mindtools that can be used in collaborative learning situations. We have used activity theory as a conceptual framework to define the requirements of social mindtools as awareness of other participants, communication and the ability to edit common objects together. We present the concept of Woven Stories and use it as an example of an effective social mindtool. We also describe a case study in which Woven Stories software was used as an online debating forum. This case study reveals the potential inherent in the concept, compared with other text-oriented Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis. IntroductionBecause of the continuous flow of powerful new technologies, research in the field of educational technology tends to concentrate on the use of mobile technologies, virtual worlds, and other relatively complex tools and technologies. Given the popularity of technology-driven developments of this kind in research, it is easy to overlook the fact that learning is inextricably bound up with thinking and that simple solutions can often be crucial in the evolution of educational research. Jonassen (1992) notes: 'Rather than developing more powerful teaching software, we should be teaching learners how to think more efficiently'. If we are to accomplish what Jonassen recommends, we need to develop a range of simple and generic thinking tools that can be taught to learners. The development of simple tools of this kind is predicated on the realisation that the primary purpose of learning is not how to use the tool but how to think efficiently.

Definition, framework and research issues of smart learning environments - a context-aware ubiquitous learning perspective

“…In the past decades, Mindtools have been widely used in research and school settings (Jonassen 2014; Nuutinen et al 2010). For example, many school teachers have experience of using concept maps, a kind of semantic net, to help students organize what they have learned (Fischer et al 2002;Hwang et al 2011a,b;Novak and Musonda 1991;Peng et al 2009).…”

An evaluation of students’ motivation in computer-supported collaborative learning of programming concepts

“…For instance, the SICAS-COL system (Rebelo, Mendes, Marcelino, & Redondo, 2005) is the result of two tools: PlanEdit (Redondo, Bravo, Ortega, & Verdejo, 2002) and SICAS (Gomes & Mendes, 2001;Marcelino, Mihaylov, & Mendes, 2008). The JeCo system (Moreno, Myller, & Sutinen, 2004a) is the result of connecting Jeliot 3 (that supports code animation and visualization, see Moreno, Myller, & Sutinen, 2004b) and Woven Stories (that supports collaborative writing, see Nuutinen, Sutinen, Botha, & Kommers, 2010). These tools have the limitation that discussion and argumentation dialog utilities (e.g.…”

GreedExCol, A CSCL tool for experimenting with greedy algorithms

“…Some CSCL systems combine a collaboration tool from other field and a tool designed for individual visualization and animation of algorithms. An example is the JeCo system [41], that integrates two previously existing tools: the animation tool Jeliot 3 [42] for Java programs and the collaborative story telling tool Woven Stories [43]. JeCo recognizes when a section of text contains Java code and students can then animate it by clicking over it using the right-hand side mouse button.…”