Instrumented Collective Learning Situations (ICLS): the Gap between Theoretical Research and Observed Practices

According to socio-constructivism approach, collective situations are promoted to favor learning in classroom, at a distance or in a blended educational context. So, many Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are provided to teachers but there are no clear studies about the way they are used and perceived. Our research is based on the hypothesis that practices of educational actors (instructional designers and tutors) are far away from theoretical results of research in education technologies. In this paper, we consider a precise kind of situation: Instrumented Collective Learning Situations (ICLS). By a survey on 13 fields in higher education in France, Switzerland and Canada, we present how ICLS are designed and how teachers used them. Conclusions give an indication on the gap between the way information technologies are prescribed and the way they are actually used and perceived by teachers.