Existing teaching-learning arrangements in many online courses may not offer sufficient scope for off campus and on campus students to work collaboratively. Tasks that support collaboration online, goal sharing and collaborative decision making provide computer programming students with experiential learning, replicating how they will work on completion of university study and when entering the professional world. This study describes the initial implementation and evaluation of an online environment designed to support a collaborative programming task. A holistic, context based approach to evaluating the success of the innovation is documented, together with the framework used for conducting the evaluation. The approach to evaluation is integrative and holistic, seeking multiple forms of evidence for collaboration, engagement and improved learning and teaching. In addition, the study outlines decisions that have to be faced by practitioners in supporting online collaborative skills and carrying through an evaluation of an initial implementation.
Aim of the paperThe aim of this article is to evaluate the initial implementation of an online learning task requiring small teams of undergraduate students to collaborate in the creation of a computer program. The design of the learning environment is described in addition to the approach and methodology for evaluating both learning processes and learning outcomes. Implications for evaluations of future implementations of the learning task are discussed. The evaluation of this innovation formed part of the CUTSD Project Staff development in evaluation of technology based teaching development projects: An action inquiry approach, and made extensive use of the handbook and framework for evaluation developed for the project by Phillips et al (2000). 228 Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 2002, 18(2) Theoretical framing for collaborative online learning Development of personal transferable skills required for the professions includes integration of theoretical and practical knowledge, communication skills, reflection on one's own knowledge and management of self, others and information (Taylor, 1997;Oliver & McLoughlin, 2001). The latter skill includes the capacity to share ideas and work collaboratively. Educational practice in general and the pedagogies that are applied in higher education are not well attuned to the development of professional expertise (Barnett, 1994). Often the design of curricula, the planning of learning activities and the forms of assessment mean that students tend to develop inert knowledge, not readily transferable to the complexities of professional life. In real life contexts, experts work in teams, share knowledge, apply it, revise and transform it through discussion, application and analysis. Tertiary pedagogy, in contrast, often values independent study and achievement. In the design of learning tasks, skills and knowledge are often decontextualised and transferable, while generic skills are not accorded sufficient emphasis....