Re-negotiating protocols: a way to integrate groupware in collaborative learning settings

Research is being done within the Computer Supported Collaborative Learning community to investigate how to apply the approach of Problem Oriented Project Pedagogy in distance learning using groupware. Successful implementation of groupware in distributed collaborative settings is not without difficulties. Investigations of different problems are needed to find how to get distributed groups in educational settings to collaborate using groupware. This paper addresses the question: How do we successfully implement groupware in distributed groups in educational settings? The paper reports from an empirical action research study of four geographical distributed project groups within two different Master Education programs in Denmark, and argues that re-negotiating protocols for collaboration is essential for success with organizational implementation of groupware in distributed project groups.