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.

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

How do you encourage or facilitate on-line participation? What constitutes effective participation? The paper firstly examines selected theories about encouraging effective on-line participation and secondly, reviews a range of qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing the effectiveness of students' on-line participation. The author aims to make informed recommendations on strategies to encourage on-line participation and relevant criteria for assessing participation in on-line discussions, based on an extensive literature review. Within the scope of this paper, on-line participation will be analysed in the context of discussions within internet-based learning environments only.

Over the past few years, asynchronous web-based technologies have been examined for their usefulness in promoting collaborative learning among university students. Variations in implementation of this technology will determine to what extent students ’ learning is actually collaborative. This article discusses curricular adaptations made in the integration of an asynchronous discussion board assignment in graduate level teacher training courses over a five-semester period. It examines how several parameters (assignment preparation, student groupings, number, topic, type of posting, prompt, instructor’s role, evaluation, and carry-over into class meetings) were modified in each semester and discusses which parameters did and did not contribute effectively to collaborative learning as identified through five key elements: positive interdependence, promotive interaction, individual accountability, social skills, and self-evaluation. Based on the formats that were found to promote collaborative learning most successfully, conclusions about a recommended asynchronous web discussion assignment are presented.

Field observations report that contemporary computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments do not completely fulfill the expectations of both educators and learners regarding their potential for supporting interactive learning and collaborative knowledge construction. This raises questions amongst educators whether SL environments do indeed provide genuine opportunities for learning processes that rely on social interaction. We believe that one of the factors that may explain this is the generally accepted assumption that social interaction can be taken for granted. Social interaction in SL environments can no more be taken for granted than it can in face-to-face settings. A theoretical framework is presented proposing the support of social interaction by embedding certain properties in the SL environment that act as social contextual facilitators relevant for the learner's social interaction. We refer to these properties as social affordances. A group awareness widget (C4W) is a software tool providing the learner with group awareness on the others in different contexts while at the same time enabling the learner to communicate with them. We hypothesize that caws provoke social affordances and formulate guidelines for designing cA ws.

this report is based upon a survey of 73 distance MBA programmes. One of the major sources of the data is the World Wide Web. Because all the programmes are delivered over a distance, most of the necessary information can be accessed and downloaded from websites. Other sources of information used in the survey include the latest schools' prospectus, books and direct correspondence with institutions

Students are most successful in online courses that provide ample opportunities for them to interact with the instructor, other students, and the course content. An interactive online course must engage students as active learners rather than as passive participants. How can instructors design virtual classrooms that offer students with a variety of learning styles and preferences the greatest chance of success? This article suggests ways of increasing interactivity in online educational environments. Why Interaction is Important Students ' perceptions of course interactions can influence their assessment of online course quality (Klesius, Homan, and Thompson 1997; Zirkin and Sumler 1995). Studies suggest that students who succeed in an online course do so because the course allows them to be active participants (Verneil and Berge 2000) and promotes collaborative learning (Miller and Miller 1999; Berge 1995). Fulford and Zhang (1993) found that students who perceive a course to be highly interactive will derive more satisfaction from the instruction than students who perceive the course to be less interactive. To ensure that their courses promote effective interaction, instructors need to confirm that students understand the instructor's expectations, that course content is easy to follow, and that opportunities for feedback among students and instructor exist (LaMonica 2001). Moore and Kearsley (1996) describe three