An Overview of the Collaborative Learning On-Demand: Paradigm and Technology

Advances in communications and software technology are driving the Internet to become an open and distributed computing platform able to provide diversified services which can be ubiquitously accessed by many users. Electronic learning-oriented services are well suited to be supported by and delivered through the Internet. They are strategic for enabling virtual universities, enhancing the skills of the employees of a company, and facilitating auto-training. Nowadays, a multitude of e-learning systems and applications have been developed which are based on specific learning models. Such models can be roughly classified as asynchronous or synchronous and self-paced or collaborative. An asynchronous Web-based course is a popular type of distance learning which usually includes final tests. The learner is individually engaged in a self-paced learning process supported by hypermedia documents which usually contain text, audio, video and pop-up hintsand hyperlinks to related topics. Synchronous distance learning is almost synonym with the transmission of live lectures, but it embraces more diversified forms of learning in which the student is supported by several tools such as videoconferencing, whiteboard, chat box, etc. Today in the Education research area, collaborative learning environments (virtual or real) are particularly interesting in that they are aimed at creating computer-based and multimedia-oriented learning processes where learners, that belong to a collaborative and interactive group, cooperatively construct knowledge. In fact, it has been proved that instructional methods promoting interpersonal discourse and social construction of knowledge (i.e., collaborative learning techniques) are more effective than methods which simply rely on the broadcast of information (classroom transmission metaphor) or on the asynchronous, self-paced access to on-line training materials (Cohen, 1994). In this paper, an overview of the Collaborative Learning On-Demand (CLOD) paradigm along with its related technology is presented. CLOD is an original learning paradigm in which a small group of students cooperatively selects and controls the playback of a remote and archived multimedia session, exchanging questions with each other in order to discuss about the session contents (Fortino & Nigro, 2003). Both the control of the playback and the interactions between the students are cooperatively self-tutored. The CLOD paradigm is supported by the