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This paper is focused on the implications of a collaborative digital storytelling project on student engagement in the higher education context. The empirical study is conducted with an interdisciplinary group of bachelor students in a Nordic University (N = 22) and a university in Southern Europe (N = 21), and the data are collected through an online student survey. The results demonstrate that the digital storytelling project supported students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. In general, the students had positive emotional experiences with the project. This assignment format was found less stressful than a frontal presentation in the classroom, allowing the students to express their perspectives more freely and confidently. The digital storytelling format also opened up for more creative ways to approach the task. It was important for the participants to have the project assignment split up in several checkpoints with feedback from the instructor. At the same time, the students suggested several areas for further improvement. Those are mainly related to the guidance on the use of technology and scripting the learning process within the small groups. Based on the results of the study, a range of practical implications for teaching practice is formulated.

This article investigates factors influencing teachers in secondary school when they plan for pupils' use of digital tools for collaboration and communication. Six social studies teachers in Oslo were interviewed about how they facilitate digital collaboration and communication. The results demonstrate that teachers facilitate this to a certain extent, both in the form of pupils' co-writing and sharing files with each other. However, there is little communication between pupils by means of digital tools as an integrated part of the teaching. None of the teachers mentioned communication using digital tools as part of basic competence without being directly asked about it. Based on the analysis of the interviews, it is likely that the barriers to using digital tools for collaborating and communicating are time restrictions and the pupils' lack of digital competence. As the pupils are physically at the same place at the same time, it is perceived as unnecessary to spend time facilitating digital communication and collaboration. The findings indicate that systematic and planned work with digital competence, including communication and interaction, should be facilitated.

This article explores the potential synergy between computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and collaboration engineering (CE). Both areas pursue the goal of understanding how to manage interactions in collaborative groups to achieve shared understanding, reduce process losses, and improve performance. By analyzing the research in the two areas, the authors identify several topics where exchange of research findings would be of mutual benefit. For example, research on CE can inform collaboration script research on reducing learners' cognitive load, providing sufficient guidance on the use of tools, and specifying the instructor role during the collaborative learning process. Similarly, collaboration script research can provide useful insights to CE on the appropriation and internalization of effective support strategies. CE research could also learn from script research on training group participants into specific roles. Further challenges include designing scripts that balance restrictiveness and flexibility and refining the theoretical foundation of the two research areas.

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