Internet repositories for collaborative learning

Abstract

Most efforts to create computer-supported collaborative learning environments have been focused on students. However, without providing appropriate integration of collaborative activities into curricula, these efforts will have little widespread impact on educational practices. To improve education through technology, learning environments for students must be integrated with curriculum development tools for teachers to create an integrated collaboration-oriented classroom. This paper describes how software tools for Internet repositories can aid fundamental collaboration activities-locating, using, adapting, and sharing-at both the teacher level (with the Teacher's Curriculum Assistant) and the student level (with the Remote Exploratorium). It illustrates how tools for educators and tools for students can be orchestrated into integrated classroom support. Keywords -Computers, networks and other technological developments relevant to CSCL; educational distance groupware; design and interface issues.

Using traits of web macro scripts to predict reuse

“…IBM's CoScripter repository of web macros illustrates these limitations [14], which are shared by repositories of spreadsheets [35], educational simulations [31], and other end-user code. To find a reusable macro in the CoScripter repository, users can sort scripts by number of executions in the past week, number of times scripts have been marked as a "favorite," and similar popularity measures based on prior use.…”

Design for Adoption

“…Most efforts to create educational applications to support learning have been fo, cused on students (Loveless, 1996;Stahl, Sumner, & Repenning, 1995). However, without providing support to teachers to adopt and appropriately use these applica, tions, these efforts will not result in any widespread impact on education.…”

WebGuide: Guiding Collaborative Learning on the Web with Perspectives

“…To design software for collaborative learning in schools means to design curriculum and classroom process as well (Stahl et al, 1995a;1995b). Computer support has to be matched with appropriate content (typically stored in WEBGUIDE or on the Web) and with constructivist practices for knowledge-building communities (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991).…”