Computer - Supported Collaborative Learning Issues for Research ( REVISED ) Vive

This paper characterizes collaborative learning systems and identifies some of the dimensions of collaborative learning research. Overview Collaborative learning deals with instructional methods that seek to promote learning through collaborative efforts among students working on a given learning task. Computer Supported Collaborative learning (CSCL) delivers a collaborative environment that deals with "learning". On the other hand, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) deals with workplace collaboration. Most systems that belong to CSCL and CSCW work mostly in a passive fashion, where the system that delivers the collaborative environment does not attempt to exercise active control of the collaborative interactions. Collaborative Learning can be characterized based on a number of dimensions including the type of collaborative control, the type of collaborative tasks, the theory behind the type of collaboration, the context in which collaboration happens, the type of participants, the roles of the collaboration participants, the collaborative domain, and the type of tutoring the thrives in a collaborative environment. Depending on the type of collaborative tasks to perform, CSCL could be employed to address concept learning, problem solving, or designing. Concept learning deals with a single goal while the other two deal with a goal in terms of sub-goals. The number of solutions in problem solving is finite and computationally easier to represent. In designing, the number of solutions is not computationally tractable. Thè`WHY'' section consolidates the motivation behind computer-supported collaborative learning research. The section on``SYSTEMS'' identifies some of the collaborative learning systems and categorizes them along the dimensions identified earlier. This is followed by a ``RESEARCH'' section that contains a research proposal and a number of research opportunities pertaining to collaborative learning.