Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 26.3
Macro-scripts
reduce team convergence to
increase the effort to be
engaged
Δ
3
Δ
1
Δ
2
Script phases
other. Both scripts increase the collaborative effort by “splitting” the team in terms
of opinions and knowledge, respectively. The nature of this split determines the
type of interactions that student will need to engage in order to complete the task.
Hence, the design principle was termed SWISH. Other examples are provided in
Dillenbourg & Hong (2008).
The ManyScripts Environment
The two examples of scripts are available in a web-based platform. Teachers can
select a script (ArgueGraph, ConceptGrid, etc.), edit the contents, set up the groups
and tune some parameters. Figure 26.4 presents a snapshot from the ArgueGraph
script in the ManyScripts platform: the system synthesizes all the justifications that
individuals and pairs have associated to their answers. Teachers use this display
during his debriefing lecture (Phase 4).
Design Factors
In both scripts, the teacher has a salient role (factor 1: Leadership) especially during
the debriefing phase. These are not genuine lectures but “organic” lectures based
on what students have produced. The drawback is that these lectures cannot be pre-
pared in advance. We usually had one coffee break between the duo answers and
the debriefing phase in ArgueGraph. This semi-improvization is against factor 10
(DesignforAll) since many teachers don't like to improvize, even if in this case
the lecture is facilitated by the environment (Fig. 26.4). In ConceptGrid, we usually
asked students to complete their grid 1 or 2 days before the debriefing lecture, which
requires less improvization but nonetheless heavy work to analyse all grids the
