Designing computer support for collaborative visual learning in the domain of computer programming

Drawing on knowledge building and social cognitive perspectives on academic literacy, this chapter argues for a design framework of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment featured by Knowledge Forum for Chinese tertiary business English students. An initial design study was reported to evaluate the design effect of CSCL environment on collaboration and academic literacy and to further investigate factors facilitating academic literacy development. Four intact classes with 102 Year One students participated in a 12-week project learning in two different learning environments, namely Computer-Supported Collaborative Inquiry Learning (CSCIL) and Regular Project-Based Learning environment (RPBL). Data was obtained from exam results, survey, essay writing quality, and focus group interviews. Four dimensions of academic literacy were identified and rated. MANOVA analyses showed significant main effects of environment indicating that CSCIL groups have significant higher gains in conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Contrastive analyses of focus group interview data identify the interplay of social, cognitive, and technological dynamics that facilitate collaborative conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Implications and further design issues are also discussed.

A focus on purely individual cognition has set a stage to social construction of knowledge. New learning environments, in many cases supported by computer technology, are often based on collaborating and sharing expertise. As a result research on Computer Supported Collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is a significant and growing field, which actively seeks new methods to resolve the challenges of human learning across diverse levels of interaction in a modern information society. In this chapter we will discuss the concept of collaborative learning and the issues involved in using information and communication technology to support collaborative learning. We begin with the definition of collaboration, which lays the foundation for diverse research perspectives and methodologies on collaborative learning. The chapter also reviews the potential of CSCL environments, and addresses the challenges CSCL environments face.

There is a growing global interest in extending the field of study from stand-alone learning environment to collaborative or cooperative learning environment. In the light of the recent explosive growth of information communication technology, the platform for collaborative or cooperative activities should be revisited. This paper investigates the technological challenges in using distributed multimedia in a collaborative learning environment and proposes an architecture for multimedia processing in the collaborative learning environment. V-Class, a Java application suite with intensive distributed multimedia support, has been developed and deployed, allowing collaborative learning between students and tutors at remote locations. Students can engage in group activities and also collaborate with tutors. Each student sees a common shared window on which text or graphical objects may be added and which can then be shared online. A built-in chat room supports collaborative dialogue. Students can work either in collaborative groups or in teams as directed by the tutor. This paper summarizes the technical architecture of the V-Class system as well as the pedagogical implications of the suite.

Designing an educational online learning environment requires proper planning as it will influence students' learning experiences. For the purpose of developing a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment, the development process should be properly designed to meet the objectives of learning. In this research, the design of a CSCL environment is explained using the Three-phase Development Model (3PD) which serves as a guideline for developing a functional learning environment. This study attempts at promoting interaction in CSCL by designing interaction during the development process of the CSCL environment rather than scaffolding interaction during the online learning process.

This study explores students' verbal interaction dynamics in two computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments: immediate collaboration and individual preparation (IP) followed by group collaboration. Although verbal interactions are not always central to all CSCL designs, they are critical in contexts that emphasize face-to-face or synchronous communication, where they facilitate negotiation, idea sharing, and collaborative knowledge construction. By applying content analysis and lag sequential analysis (LSA), this study examined the verbal interaction behavioral sequences of students in both conditions to understand how IP influences collaborative dynamics. The findings highlight the crucial role of IP in enhancing collaborative dynamics, suggesting that well-structured preparatory activities can significantly improve group interaction efficiency. This research contributes valuable insights for refining CSCL instructional strategies, emphasizing the need to balance structured preparation with opportunities for spontaneous interaction to optimize collaborative learning outcomes. By managing distractions and maintaining task focus, educators can create more effective collaborative learning environments.

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.

We present a collaborative learning environment called iCycle (Intelligent Computer-supported hybrid Collaborative Learning Environment) along with enabling Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. The research is derived from a collaboration of four universities offering six cyber-learning courses in Computational Data-enabled Science and Engineering (CDSE) emphasising collaborative Project-Based Learning (PBL) and data-driven learning assessment to promote deep-learning. Relevant data sets for evidence-based learning assessment and iterative course improvement may grow in size to terabytes of information in the near future. We developed AI applications for collecting teamwork data, automating data analysis, and for formative learning assessment.

This chapter examines the theoretical basis for use of online portfolios to enhance individual and collaborative learning, and explores current uses, with focus on strengths and weaknesses. It formulates a research agenda that will enable the educational community to accelerate deployment of effectively designed online portfolios in support of individual and collaborative learning. The intended outcome is to create a special issue of a relevant journal on portfolios that will serve as a status report on use of portfolios and a launch point for future research and deployment of student online portfolios. Online portfolios are viewed as tools in the computer-supported collaborative learning environment that can enhance use of higher-level thinking skills in the learning process. Online portfolios will be issued to each participant, and each participant will be assigned to an online small group for conducting collaborative work. Registered participants will be divided into small groups, each group being assigned a private group portfolio.

The study in this article examines and illustrates the intertextual meanings made by a group of high school science students as they embarked on a knowledge building discourse to solve a physics problem. This study is situated in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment designed to support student learning through a science inquiry unit enacted in a classroom. As the CSCL environment is intensively mediated by written texts and spoken dialogue, the environment presents a unique opportunity to investigate the relationship between intertextuality and collaborative knowledge-building. Drawing from a dialogic and semiotic perspective of intertextuality, a framework based on systemic functional linguistics was used to analyse the intertextual and multimodal relations between the written and spoken forms of language used to solve the physics problem. Results indicate that in a CSCL environment, the thematic integration of the written and spoken forms of language is critical in the progress of the collaborative inquiry. In particular, written texts provide the contextual meanings to facilitate the students’ collaborative discourse, while spoken language creates new meanings by building bridges across the written texts. The implications of these analyses and findings for classroom discourse as well as potential for future research are discussed.

Contents and subject index

Gamification is a term that refers to the use of game design elements in contexts other than video games. In these contexts, the primary goal of gamification is not playful, but rather to motivate users to perform tasks or change behaviors. It is also the goal of gamification, captivate users and influence them to persist in the use of the gamified system. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing interest in gamification and its application in learning environments, especially online. In learning contexts, motivating students to follow up on teaching tasks is an important role for teachers and intelligent educational systems. However, ill-designed gamification interventions can become a distraction capable of interfering on the teaching-learning process. Despite this, most studies in the area remain focused on the potential benefits of gamification and less on investigating systematized solutions to achieve these benefits. Our contribution to the solution of the problem is based on the use of persuasion profiles that take into account the student's player roles. We conduct systematic mappings of the literature to gather information about gamification in education, and how group formation in collaborative learning environments. As a result, we created two conceptual frameworks. One framework to help understand and classify group formation in the context of computer-supported collaborative learning, and other to support the definition of player roles in collaborative learning environments. Also, in a preliminary study (N = 481), we adapted and validated for Brazilian Portuguese speakers a scale to measure users' susceptibility to persuasion. In another study (N = 149) we developed a theoretical model to map persuasive strategies and different roles of players to support the elaboration of persuasion profiles. Finally, to verify the feasibility of our model, in another study (N = 18) we elaborated prototypes of user interfaces and analyzed the perceived persuasiveness of the interfaces for different players roles and their susceptibility to persuasion. Results show that less motivated students were more likely to accept the suggestions of the prototypes, whereas users with above-average motivation (among observed students) reacted negatively to influence attempts by showing low agreement rates for the requirements of the prototypes. We also observed in the three studies (N = 648) that the number of individuals susceptible to the principle of authority were the lowest, compared to the other influence principles. Few research initiatives have been investigating the development of tailored gamified. One of the reasons for such deficiency is the difficulty of creating computational models based on learner's psychological traits (e.g., psychological needs, susceptibility to persuasion, and learner and player roles). However, more worrisome than the ineffectiveness of gamification models based on one-size-fits-all is the risk of designing counterproductive models that could backfire, since the appropriate strategy to motivate an individual may end up discouraging others. Thus, evidence suggest that gamification design could benefit of influence principles, although tailored solutions should be designed to minimize the risks of selecting counter-tailored and ill-defined persuasive strategies.

Group Awareness, Learning, and Participation in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)

Collaborative digital learning is becoming increasingly popular in higher education. However, the use of collaborative digital learning does risk placing too big a responsibility on the learner and reducing face-to-face interaction with the educator. The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of a digital educational intervention on collaborative learning in nursing education. The intervention group ( n = 87) studied using a collaborative digital learning environment and the control group ( n = 38) studied in the traditional classroom setting. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of student satisfaction. However, the students' satisfaction of studying decreased in the intervention group after completion of the course. In the intervention group students had higher satisfaction in the area of promoting collaborative group work and received statistically significant higher grades in the final course evaluation. This study emphasizes that collaborative digital learning can be an effective approach in nursing education in terms of learning outcomes. It also shows that more study is needed on the role of the teacher in collaborative digital nursing education.

This study investigated the relationships between computer science (CS) course effectiveness and academic performance in a Guangdong Province private school through an integrated environmental and social psychology framework, examining collaborative learning environment and technology environment perception as mediating mechanisms. A quantitative cross-sectional design surveyed several hundred Grade 4 international high school students enrolled in computer science courses at Guangdong Country Garden School during the 2024-2025 academic year. Results revealed that all five CS course effectiveness dimensions—hands-on experiences, real-world applications, collaborative learning, problem-solving abilities, and technology landscape readiness—demonstrated strong positive correlations with academic performance (r=.790-.879, p<.01), with problem-solving abilities emerging as the strongest predictor (β=.342). Mediation analysis using Hayes' PROCESS macro with bootstrapping procedures confirmed that collaborative learning environment (14.7%-23.7% mediation) and technology environment perception (14.7%-23.9% mediation) functioned as significant partial mediators, with real-world applications showing strongest social-psychological mediation and hands-on experiences exhibiting strongest environmental mediation. Hierarchical regression demonstrated that environmental and social-psychological factors contributed unique variance beyond course effectiveness dimensions (ΔR²=.043, p<.001). Findings provide empirical support for person-environment fit theories and social cognitive frameworks, highlighting the importance of optimizing both technological infrastructure and interpersonal climate for CS education effectiveness in private school contexts.

Over recent years, while studies about computer-supported collaborative learning increased gradually, more and more researchers recognized the importance of social interactions in the CSCL environments. Social interactions can be divided into on-task and non-task interactions. Non-task interactions embraces some social and affective activities which are not directly learning related such as greetings, social support, and friend making. Many studies have demonstrated that non-task interactions can improve students' learning performance. To investigate the research status of interaction in computer-supported collaborative learning environment, we therefore conduct a research about publication patterns about the social and affective studies from 2001 to 2011. Index Terms - Collaborative learning, Computer-supported collaborative learning, Non-task interactions, Social and affective issues