Support of Case-Based Authentic Learning Activities: A Collaborative Case  Commenting Tool and a Collaborative Case Builder

Abstract

Cases are widely used in professional education to engage learners with examples of real world practices. Collaboration in casebased learning can add to the authenticity of the experience by encouraging learners to synthesize multiple perspectives. In this paper, we present some of our experiences in collaborative case-based learning in the context of a usability engineering (UE) course. The work reported here is part of an ongoing project designing UE cases and learning activities that use them; more recently we have begun to explore the role of collaborative activities and tools in casebased learning. We describe the activities that were developed and fielded in two different UE courses, and two collaborative tools created to support these activities -a collaborative case browser and a collaborative case builder. Students were positive about both types of collaborative activities and offered suggestions for how to enhance effectiveness in the future.