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There is a growing literature demonstrating the importance of collaboration and teamwork in the process of learning computational thinking and the foundational aspects of computer science. While Collaborative Virtual Environments are becoming widespread in the software development professional domain and in various areas of advanced learning, their use in the introductory stages of learning computing is still very limited. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a blooming of attractive programming environments specifically designed to expose young students (e.g., middle school age) to computational thinking. Alice is a very popular introductory programming environment, focused on programming through animations and story-telling. This paper introduces a novel extension of the Alice framework that enables interaction and collaboration among students in the development of programs. In particular, the new version of Alice described in this paper provides support for virtual pair programming. The modified version of Alice allows two students to remotely share a virtual world, and interact in its construction; the system supports roles assignments, to allow teachers to control activities and contributions of the two students in the creation of a programming project.978-1-4799-3922-0/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE

The problem addressed in this paper is the challenge arising in enabling collaborative learning in the context distance education models. While research has made quantum leaps in the development of both effective collaborative pedagogical models as well as online learning environments, the research at the intersection of these two areas has been scarce. This paper presents the design for a new collaborative virtual model, named Collaborative Virtual Affinity Group model (CVAG), which is an extension of the successful Affinity Group Research (ARG) model. The new model provides an integration of the principles underlying ARG with the traditional principles of virtual learning environments. The CVAG model is explored in the context of introductory Computer Science courses-where students are focused on learning the basic principles of computer programming.

The COVID-19 pandemic increases the reliance on video conferencing applications for learning. Accessible video conferencing applications with good learning features can help people with visual impairment when they participate in online classes. This paper investigates the accessibility limitations and the available learning features of the top two current video conferencing applications, namely Zoom and MS Teams. A task-based expert review and a blind user evaluation are conducted using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1. In addition, the study identifies the application with the better learning features based on Universal Design for Learning guidelines. A set of recommendations are outlined for developing better inclusive video conferencing applications for people with visual impairment. The presented ideas can be applied to enhance the learning experience of people with visual impairment.

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