Web based and Computer supported Collaborative Learning CSCL

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Web based and Computer supported Collaborative
Learning (CSCL)

• By David Trepess
• email cmrdwt_at_soc.staffs.ac.uk

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Structure

• Background - what is CSCW?
• Elements of groupware systems
• Available technology
• Why is distributed learning necessary?
• Advantages and disadvantages of distributed
  learning
• Introduction to distributed learning applications

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What is CSCW?

• Definition
• The use of computers to support the collaboration
  of several users
• Groupware
• Tools which facilitate collaboration
• Types of group working - Time/ space matrix
• Co-located/ Remote, Synchronous/ Asynchronous
• Functions supported by groupware
• Computer mediated communication
• Meeting and decision support systems
• Shared applications and artefacts

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Cooperative work framework
Feed through
Dix et al. (1997)
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Important issues in CSCW

• Awareness
• Context
• Social context
• Situational context
• Elements of groupware applications
• Issues of interactive situations
• Issues of interactive social protocol
• Human error

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Awareness - part 1

• Social awareness
• What should I expect from other members of this
  group?
• How will I interact with this group?
• What role will I take in this group?
• What role will the other members of the group
  assume?
• Task awareness
• What do I know about this topic and the structure
  of the task?
• What do other know about this topic and task?
• What steps must we take to complete the task?
• How will the outcome be evaluated?
• What tools/ materials are needed to complete the
  task? What is available?
• How much time is required? How much time is
  available?

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Awareness - part 2

• Concept awareness
• How does this task fit into what I already know
  about the concept?
• What else do I need to find out about this topic?
• Do I need to revise any of my current ideas in
  light of this information?
• Can I create a hypothesis from my current
  knowledge to predict the task outcome?
• Workspace awareness
• What are the other members of the group doing to
  complete the task?
• Where are they?
• What are they doing?
• What have they already done?
• What will they do next?
• How can I help other students to complete the
  project?
• Gutwin et al (1995)

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Context

• Social context
• Structure - looks at the cultural and social
  norms in the task environment
• History - how cultural norms change over time
• Action - outcomes of an evaluation of the current
  situation
• Situational context
• Opportunities - arise through observations of
  certain environmental states
• Interests - levels of priority
• Goals - Goals are created through the
  relationship between opportunities and interests
• Mantovani (1996)

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Elements of groupware

• People
• Name, appearance, status, role etc.
• Artifacts
• Objects produced/ consumed during interaction
• Tasks and activities
• Goals, tasks/ scenarios, activities and
  operations
• Interactive situations
• Relationship of participants to themselves, time
  and space
• Interactive protocols
• The allowable sequence of exchanges of signals
  and information

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Issues of interactive situations
Dependency
tight
Time
Timing
synchronous
planned
loose
spontaneous
asynchronous
same
large
Size
small
different
Location
Salvador et al. (1996)
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Issues of interactive social protocol
Contention resolution
lo threshold
Meeting style
Floor control
unidirectional
maximum
hi threshold
multidirectional
minimum
large
informal
Size
small
Formality of address
formal
Salvador et al. (1996)
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Human error in CSCW
(a) social conflicts, (b) planning conflicts and
(c) interaction conflicts
Trepess et al. (1998)
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Available technology

• Email
• Internet relay chat
• News/ discussion groups
• Video facilities
• Audio facilities
• Shared workspaces
• Workflow systems
• Web Pages
• Virtual reality

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Distributed learning

• Why is distributed learning necessary?
• To reach people who can not get to physical
  learning location,
• To increase the numbers of students that can be
  taught,
• Students have contact with experts worldwide,
• To reduce the physical contact time between
  students and tutors.

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Pros and cons of distributed learning

• Opinions of students
• Lack of quality control on the Web Vs refereed
  journal articles
• Provides superficial, descriptive information,
  rather than in-depth theory
• Useful for obtaining an overview or for summaries
  particularly when starting to research an area
• Experts in a field become accessible through
  their home pages and information obtained from
  world authorities through e-mail
• Find "ground-breaking"/ "cutting edge" research
  and theory that has not yet been published
• No problem of 1000 students competing for a few
  books, and even fewer lecturers.
• (Thatcher et. al. 1997)

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Further opinions

• Quotations from focus groups
• "we would be doomed"
• "teachers would become obsolete"
• "we would become a computer terminal"
• "in a virtual classroom you are more likely to
  judge a person on their ability"
• (Thatcher et. al. 1997)

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Lotus Learning space

• Basic introduction - What it proposes to offer
• Designed for the development and distribution of
  CSCL material,
• To provide a learning team centered approach to
  learning,
• Supports collaboration and facilitates group
  interaction
• Provides a learner centered approach to learning
• Provides a sense of community
• Provides a structured way to learn
• (Lotus Institute)
• It may accomplish all these objectives to some
  degree but to what extent and what is missing?

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Classroom 2000

• Concept
• Tools to allow integration, capture and access to
  support university lecture courses
• Components
• Lecture conventional lecture takes place
• Computer based whiteboard (ZenPad)
• Pre-prepared lecture notes
• Blank whiteboard
• Notes placed on web
• Review by student using text and real audio
  technology

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TeamWave

• Based upon a room metaphor
• Provides anytime communication
• Access to many shared tools
• Awareness support
• Supports textual communication
• can utilise NetMeetings audio and video
  conferencing
• Persistent repository

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Points to consider

• How much will lecturers have to change their
  teaching style with the introduction of CSCL?
• How important are the issues of synchronisity in
  distributed learning environments?
• How easy is it to form a relationship with a
  person using groupware software?
• How can Classroom 2000 concept be adapted to
  distance learning?
• How do we assess a students work?
• What is the implication of CSCL in Schools and
  collages?
• What sort of communication channels are
  appropriate?
• Is there a threat that the globalisation of
  education will mean the downgrading of educators'
  skills, particularly in developing countries?

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Further reading

• Abowd et al. 1998, Investigating the capture,
  integration and access problem of ubiquitous
  computing in an educational setting. Proceedings
  of CHI 98, May.
• Lotus Institute White Paper, Distributed
  learning Approaches, Technologies and Solutions
• Cockburn, Greenberg, 1994 Making Contact Getting
  the group communicating with groupware, Internal
  paper University of Calgary.
• Dix, A. J. (1994). Computer-Supported
  Co-operative Work - A Framework. In Design
  Issues in CSCW. Eds. Rosenburg, D. and
  Hutchison, C. Springer Verlag, pg 9-26.
• Grudin, J. and Palen, L., 1995. Why Groupware
  Succeeds Discretion or Mandate? Proc. ECSCW'95,
  263-278. Dordrecht, The Netherlands Kluwer.
• Gutwin et. al. 1995, Support for workspace
  awareness in educational groupware. CSCL 95
  Proceedings.
• Gutwin, C. and Greenberg, S. (1998). Design for
  individuals, design for groups Tradeoffs between
  power and workspace awareness. Report 98-621-12,
  Department of Computer Science, University of
  Calgary, Calgary, Alberta Canada.

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Further reading (cont.)

• Mantovani, G. (1996). Social Context in HCI A
  new framework for mental models, co-operation,
  and collaboration. Cognitive Science Vol. 20.
• McKendree et al. 1997 The vicarious Learner
  investigating the benefits of observing peer
  dialogues. CAL 97 Exeter, UK
• Salvador et. al. 1996 The Denver Model for
  Groupware Design. SIGCHI, Vol.28 No.1, January
  1996
• TeamWave Software Ltd. Collaborative Education
  with TeamWave Workplace. June 25, 1998
• Thatcher et al. 1997. The WWW as a tool in
  teaching Organisational Behavior. On-line
  version http//www.soc.staffs.ac.uk/cmrdwt/obco
  n/obcon2.htm International Organisational
  Behavior Conference. Graduate School of Business,
  University of Cape Town, December 1997
• Trepess, D. and Stockman, A. (1998) A
  classification and analysis of erroneous actions
  in computer supported co-operative work
  environment. Appearing in special edition of
  Interacting With Computers on human error
  (December or January edition).