Collaboration Support in Networked Distance Learning

Learning is basically a social process. Experiences with Computer Supported Learning (CAL) over the last thirty years have shown that technology cannot substitute for some of the essential elements of this process, e.g. personal communication, face-toface collaboration, positive and negative reinforcement through fellow students, etc. Today, with local and wide area networks becoming a reality, there seems to be a chance to simulate some elements of this learning process by a suitable combination of synchronous and asynchronous collaboration techniques. In particular, this paper proposes ways of supporting this interaction within a consistent, representation-independent complex object model. To map the model onto affordable technologies we borrow structures and methods from both database research and current multi-media course development. The arguments for the suitability of our approach, keeping in mind that distance learning remains a necessity in many circumstances, are supported with a number of examples. 1. FernUniversität Hagen, 58084 Hagen, Germany, [email protected] 2. Universität Gh Kassel, 34109 Kassel, Germany, [email protected]