scholarly journals ‘It was fun’: Exploring the pedagogical value of collaborative educational games

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
Adeline Cooney ◽  
◽  
Eamon Darcy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Tools ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
Teaching Team

This qualitative descriptive study explored the value of games as pedagogical tools to teach team working and foster collaborative learning in a higher education classroom. Groups of three or four students (n = 181) were asked to participate in a simple low-tech serious game which required them to solve a puzzle. The puzzle simulated ‘good’ teamwork practices. Subsequently, participants were asked to complete an open-ended qualitative questionnaire about their experiences. The game was found to enhance learners’ understanding of the attributes of effective team working. It was concluded that teambased collaborative games have value in experientially ‘teaching’ team working skills. Moreover, simple low-tech games were found to have good capacity for generating high-quality collaborative learning experiences. In this context it is argued that simple low-tech games should not be forgotten in the rush to develop computer-supported collaborative learning environments. Not least because they generate opportunities for face-to-face interaction.

Positive Interdependence in Blended Learning Environments

2018 ◽  
pp. 50-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calixto Gutiérrez-Braojos ◽  
Jesús Montejo-Gámez ◽  
Ana E. Marín Jiménez ◽  
Asunción Martínez Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Latin Squares ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Face To Face Learning ◽  
Cognitive Responsibility

Computer-supported collaborative learning is becoming one of the most impactful learning and teaching approaches in higher education. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of different conditions of face-to-face learning (cooperative, inter-group competition, and inter-individual competition) on the participation and learning of students in the virtual community. This investigation takes into account three parameters according to a Latin squares design. In this study, designing learning environments in conditions of collaboration without competition in face-to-face environments facilitates the cognitive responsibility of the collective and better achievements in the community to a greater extent. The authors did not find any benefits of intergroup competition or individual competition over collaborative learning without competition.

A Case Study of Student Use of Asynchronous Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to Support Reflection and Evaluation

2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Land ◽  
Michele M. Dornisch
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Bulletin Board ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
Face To Face Instruction

Recent interest in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has prompted educators to incorporate communication tools into their courses. This article reports findings of students' use of two Web-based discussion forums across two semesters to supplement face-to- face instruction. By tracking the discussions, we discovered that when students initiated reflection and integration of perspectives, they did so through concessions and oppositions to the postings of their peers. Findings point to the importance of explicit scaffolding of conversations to encourage student sharing and evaluation of perspectives.

Learning Through Sharing and Regulation

2012 ◽  
pp. 151-162
Author(s):  
Chia-Wen Tsai ◽  
Yi-Fen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Teachers ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Blended Course ◽  
Experimental Group

Many studies investigate the effects of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and also explore how learning processes and social interaction contribute to learning outcomes in online learning environments. This study provides an appropriate design of web-supported collaborative learning (CL) with teacher’s initiation and self-regulated learning (SRL), and demonstrates the effects of this design on improving students’ involvement and helping students attain course goals in a blended course. The authors conducted an experiment with an intervention of web-supported CL with initiation and SRL in a course titled ‘Applied Information Technology: Networking’ that included 112 sophomores from two classes at an academic university in Taiwan. The class of web-supported CL with initiation and SRL was the experimental group, and online CL without initiation or SRL served the control group. The results illustrate that web-supported CL with initiation and SRL could significantly improve students’ involvement in this course. In addition, interviewed students also expressed their positive appreciation for web-supported CL with initiation and SRL. The authors expect the innovative learning activities and teaching method in this study could provide insights for online teachers.

Drawing on Design to Improve Evaluation of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

2004 ◽  
pp. 281-310
Author(s):  
John B. Nash ◽  
Christoph Richter ◽  
Heidrun Allert
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Human Computer Interaction ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Program Theory ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Design Learning ◽  
Evaluative Thinking

This chapter addresses theoretical frameworks for the evaluation of computer-supported learning environments. It outlines the characteristics and obstacles this evaluation must face with regard to projects that design learning experiences, stressing the notion that human-computer interaction is imbedded in social context that is complex and dynamic. The authors examine how scenario-based design and program theory can contribute to the design and evaluation of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and present a case study in which both approaches are applied. Based on the revealed complementary frameworks, a compelling approach is drafted that combines both of them. Our goal is to make CSCL designers more aware of the benefits of evaluative thinking in their work and to introduce two tangible approaches to evaluation that, when implemented as a design step, can strengthen CSCL initiatives.

Collaborative Learning in Dynamic Group Environments

2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamen Kanev ◽  
Shigeo Kimura
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Group Management ◽  
Dynamic Group ◽  
Surface Code ◽  
Printed Materials ◽  
Printed Educational Materials

This chapter is dedicated to Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) employing dynamic groups, where at different stages students work independently, interact with each other in pairs, and conduct joint work in larger groups with varying numbers of participants. A novel Dynamic Group Environment for Collaborative Learning (DGE/CL) that supports students in making informed and intelligent choices about how, when, and with whom to collaborate is introduced. A face-to-face collaborative scenario, where all students are in the same room and can move freely around and interact with each other while using digitally enhanced printed materials with direct point-and-click functionality is considered. Flexible and efficient support for dynamic group management is ensured through the adopted Cluster Pattern Interface (CLUSPI) technology, which, while preserving the original touch-and-feel of printed educational materials, supports additional affordances and allows employment of new, non-traditional paper-based interactions. Possibilities for DGE/CL enhancements with specialized surface code readers and laser-based digital surface encoding being developed by the authors are outlined and references to recent projects are given.

Fostering Collaboration in CSCL

2009 ◽  
pp. 335-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Persico ◽  
Francesca Pozzi ◽  
Luigi Sarti
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Learning Communities ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social

Some collaborative learning strategies widely used in face-to-face settings can also be adapted to online contexts. They allow us to master the complex relations between members of large, heterogeneous online learning communities. The authors build on their experience in the application of some of the most well-known strategies and techniques used in online courses, such as jigsaw, peer review, role-play, case study, and brainstorming. The use of these strategies in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments and the related models describing the social structure of the learning community is discussed in the attempt to highlight their strengths and weaknesses and investigate the conditions for their applicability. The aim is to inform the design and the management of online learning communities.

Developing Shared Mental Models in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

2008 ◽  
pp. 278-299
Author(s):  
Marissa L. Shuffler ◽  
Gerald F. Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Shared Mental Models ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Learners ◽  
Computer Based

In order to adapt to changing learning environments, instructors must be aware of the challenges that virtuality brings to establishing a shared understanding among online learners. Although developing shared mental models is typically a natural part of learning, it requires significant social and task-related interaction among students, which can be difficult in computer based environments in which social presence is lacking. This chapter will briefly discuss research related to the development of shared understanding and explore what instructors can do to address challenges and facilitate the development of shared knowledge in computer supported collaborative learning environments.

Reflection and Intellectual Amplification in Online Communities of Collaborative Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 1950-1960
Author(s):  
Elsebeth Korsgaard Sorensen
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning ◽  
Online Collaborative Learning ◽  
Meta Level ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Collaborative Knowledge Building ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Collaborative Knowledge

An alternative theoretical framework for analyzing and designing computer-supported collaborative learning environments is introduced. Bateson’s theory (1973) is used as a starting point for considering in what sense the specific dialogical conditions and qualities of virtual environments may support learning. We need more stringent analytical approaches of research that relate communicative qualities of virtual contexts to qualities of the collaborative knowledge-building process. This approach suggests that new didactic and instructional methods, addressing the learner’s communicative awareness at a meta-level, need to be developed in order to fully utilize the interactive and reflective potential of online collaborative learning. A deeper understanding of the reflective nature of the online environment and its potential for enhancing intellectual amplification will give rise to the birth of new and more innovative designs of online collaborative learning.

Collaborative Learning Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 284-289
Author(s):  
Maryam Alavi ◽  
Donna Dufner ◽  
Caroline Howard
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Group Support Systems ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Web

Three basic categories of technologies are effective for extending collaborative learning beyond traditional face-to-face interactions to online learning and distance education: 1. Group support systems (GSS) 2. Collaboratories 3. Integrated learning environments. Although some of the collaborative learning technologies can be used without the Web, the Internet and World Wide Web provide the scalable global connectivity to support these technologies, with the browser serving as a ubiquitous user interface for collaborative learning applications.

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