Virtual communication in middle school students' and teachers' inquiry

The aim of the study was to evaluate an innovative learning project in which middle school students and teachers completed chosen, group inquiries through virtual collaboration in a web-based learning environment. The students' task was to accomplish a cross disciplinary inquiry into cultural phenomena. Students worked mainly at home during the project and took much responsibility for their own work and course achievements. The investigators analyzed the content of the students' and teachers' communication in the web-based environment. The findings suggest that the virtual environment was used as a communication tool for organizing the collaborative work more than as a genuine knowledge-building tool. Also, the tension between the conventional school culture and the novel working practices apparently affected students' participation and patterns of activity in the course.