There is much positive research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments in asynchronous distributed learning groups (DLGs). There is also research that shows that contemporary CSCL environments do not completely fulfil expectations on supporting interactive group learning, shared understanding, social construction of knowledge, and acquisition of competencies. There appear to be two major pitfalls impeding achievement of the desired social interaction in CSCL environments: taking social interaction in groups for granted and the lack of attention paid to the social psychological dimension of social interaction outside of the task context. Current solutions offered to avoid the pitfalls placed responsibility on instructors and teachers to encourage collaborative learning and social interaction. To both free educators from this burden and be more cost effective, we propose an intelligent CSCL environment. The environment is based upon a theoretical framework that suggests embedding certain properties in the environment to act as social contextual facilitators- social affordances- to initiate and sustain learner’s social interactions. Finally, a group awareness widget (GAW)- a software tool providing the learner group awareness about the others in the task and in the non-task context- is introduced as an embodiment of this theoretical framework.

In this study I investigated whether instructor classroom behaviors, called “immediacy behaviors, ” are significantly associated with student learning and satisfaction in Web-based MBA courses. Immediacy behaviors represent instructors ’ attempts to reduce the social distance between themselves and their students. While my study found that immediacy behaviors were positive predictors of student learning and course satisfaction, such other factors as student attitudes toward course software, the length of a course, and prior student and instructor experience with Web-based courses were also significant predictors. These findings suggest that both structural characteristics of MBA programs and instructor behavior merit attention for Web-based courses to successfully deliver graduate management education. Keywords: Immediacy behaviors, Web-based courses WHILE MOST US COLLEGES and universities now deliver at least some courses via the Internet (Clarke, 1999), the medium has also brought competition from corporations, prompting concern about a potential shakeout of providers of business education (Moore, 1997; Symonds, 2000). This potentially hostile future environment raises a fundamental question for business schools: Do faculty add value to education in the online environment, and if so, how? Some initial studies on virtual classroom characteristics suggest that time and place flexibility, patience with students adopting a new technology, and an emphasis on interaction increase student satisfaction with Web-based courses

While the number of college courses being delivered via the internet is increasing rapidly, our knowledge of what makes these courses effective learning experiences for students is still limited. Therefore, I conducted a study that examined the effects of technological, pedagogical, and student characteristics on student learning in Internet-based MBA courses. Of these characteristics, I found that only those reflecting instructor efforts to create an interactive classroom environment were significantly associated with student learning. Other characteristics such as the perceived ease of use of the course software package, the perceived flexibility of the online classroom environment, and the amount of time students spent logged onto the course Website were not significantly associated with student learning. These findings suggest that while some level of technological sophistication may be important, teaching expertise may be the primary criterion for teaching success in the online classroom environment. Therefore, instructors may need to spend more time developing and cultivating instructional skills such as simultaneously working with several smaller groups of students, developing interesting discussion questions,

Many of the designations used by the manufactures and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Every attempt has been made to supply trademark information about manufactures and their products mentioned in this dissertation. A list of the trademark designations and their owners appears below. Trademark notice Access, Netmeeting, Sharepoint Team Services, Windows, and Windows 2000 Server are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Post-it is a trademark of 3M Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds Professional Quest is a trademark of Dipolar Pty Limited Yahoo! Groups is a trademark of Yahoo! Domino is a trademark of IBM/Lotus Authorware is a trademark of Macromedia Toolbook is a trademark of Click2Learn

Project organized problem based learning is a successful concept for on-campus engineering education at Aalborg University. Recently this "Aalborg concept" has been used in networked distance education as well. This paper describes the experiences from two years of Internet-mediated project work in a new Master of Information Technology education. The main conclusions are, that the project work is a strong learning motivator, enhancing peer collaboration, for offcampus students as well. However, the concept cannot be directly transferred to off-campus learning. In this paper, the main problems experienced with group organized project work in distance education are described, and some possible solutions are listed.

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Five eighth grade science classes of students in at a middle school were assigned to three treatment groups: those who individually concept mapped, those who collaboratively concept mapped, and those who independently used their study time. The findings revealed that individually generating concept maps on computers during study time positively influenced science concept learning above and beyond independent use of study time, but that collaboratively generating concept maps did not. Students in both individual and collaborative concept mapping groups had positive attitudes toward concept mapping using Inspiration software. However, students in the collaborative concept mapping group did not like working in a group. This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge concerning the comparative effectiveness of individually and collaboratively-generating concept maps on computers for learning.

: Project organized problem based learning is a successful concept for on-campus education at Aalborg University. Recently it has been the basis in networked distance education as well. This paper describes the experiences of Internet-mediated project work in a new Master of Industrial Information Technology education. For a pilot project, each student group prepared a report, evaluating the collaborative work process, and these process reports combined with the teachers observations, comprise the background material. The main conclusions are, that the project work was a strong learning motivator, enhancing peer collaboration, and that networked communication and face-to-face meetings was an efficient combination. Keywords: Distance education, collaborative learning, problem based learning, group organized project work, Internet. 1. Introduction Project organized problem based learning has been the foundation for the educational system at Aalborg University from its start 25 years a...

this paper, we examine the emergent patterns of media use in collaboration at a distance. Two teams working at a distance to complete a software specifications project were observed using a mix of email, web archiving, synchronous chat, and applications sharing. Extending Media Richness Theory, we describe the multiplicity of communication situations these teams faced in terms of group management, interpersonal work, task work, and tools/media issues. We suggest that despite differences between the teams in both performace, communication, and situation, common patterns emerged in which each media type appeared to afford a distinct characteristic mix of communication. For both teams, email was dominated by exchanges on topics of group management; application-sharing/chat environments were dominated by exchanges over task work. Based on these results concerning emergent patterns of media use, we offer predictions concerning media use in collaboration at a distance and suggest some practi

Project organized problem based learning is a successful concept for on-campus education at Aalborg University. Recently this "Aalborg concept" has been used in networked distance education as well. This paper describes the experiences from two years of Internetmediated project work in a new Master of Information Technology education. The main conclusions are, that the project work is a strong learning motivator, enhancing peer collaboration, for off-campus students as well. However, the concept cannot be directly transferred to off-campus learning. The main reasons are that the students must communicate electronically, and that they are under a fierce time strain, studying part time and typically with a full time job and a family. In this paper, the main problems experienced with group organized project work in distance education are described, and some possible solutions are listed.