Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
annotations of group members provide ongoing
feedback and improvement of the work. In this
learning tool, the individually owned document
provides a relatively fixed reference for discus-
sion and co-creation of knowledge as opposed to
shared authoring tools.
Naidu et al (2000) report on the develop-
ment and application in the realm of political
science of a collaborative role-play simulation
technology using Internet protocols. A student
assumes a particular role in the “world” that has
a particular goal or mission associated with it.
Learning takes place as the student acquires the
skill and knowledge necessary to achieve their
goal. Their scenario or simulated real life has all
the complexity and richness of the real world.
Web based conferencing takes place between
the participants in the scenario. The simulation
continues in the conference areas designated
as news agencies such as BBC or CNN and
students interact via different document types
such as memos, draft articles and news, which
vary depending on their roles. This impressive
collaborative framework for learning immerses
the student in a scenario where they must learn
in consultation with others in their “world.”
Students are at the centre of the learning process
and the emphasis is on an interdependent col-
lective. This rich and purposeful compilation of
Internet technologies for collaborative learning
is not the norm however.
More often generic Internet technologies are
involved in group learning and a learning strategy
is built around them. Generic technologies such
as email, discussion forums, chat rooms, weblogs,
wikis, webcasting and podcasting systems are
readily available to tertiary teachers and are often
incorporated in online learning management sys-
tems - that may be either of a proprietary nature
e.g. WebCT, Blackboard or open source systems
e.g. Moodle or Sakai.
Email and discussion forums need no introduc-
tion to readers in the 21 st century. These extensively
used communication tools have the advantages of
asynchronicity and provide a permanent record of
“conversation.”A chat room provides the benefits
and chat of synchronous communication and must
be carefully incorporated into a learning environ-
ment to overcome the chaotic communication of
too many textual “voices” at once.
The discussion forum or bulletin board is the
most widely adopted and successful Internet com-
munication tool in collaborative learning to date.
The literature provides a plethora of examples of
collaborative learning strategies using the discus-
sion forum (McLoughin, 2000; Cooper, 2001;
Curtis & Lawson, 2001; Treleaven, 2003). Its
success is based on openness and ease of use. Any
number of discussion “spaces” can be created to
cater for full class interaction or smaller group
activities. The discussion forum does not require
learners to participate at a particular time or place
making it a very adaptable and flexible tool in the
lives of learners and their teachers.
Textual Internet technologies complemented
by audio and video and learning are often enriched
by varied forms of presentation. Webcasting tech-
nology enables audio or video files to be hosted
and accessed by multiple Internet users. Streaming
technology allows large amounts of data to be
continuously downloaded whilst being viewed.
Viewing the video or audio file begins before
the whole multimedia file has been transmitted.
Podcasting now provides the added benefit that
audio/video files can be downloaded to an indi-
vidual's own media storage and playing device
for future replay.
The term Web 2.0 is used to describe significant
and recent shifts in using the web. O'Reilly (2005)
describes Web 2.0 as having an “architecture of
participation.” Web 2.0 is based on social software
where users generate content rather than simply
consume it; in so doing they give spontaneous
shape to the organisation of information. The web
takes more of a peer-to-peer shape than its previous
top-down, authorised presentation of information.
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