CoSSICLE - Computer-Supported Scripting of Interaction in Collaborative Learning Environments

CoSSICLE

Computer-Supported Scripting of Interaction in Collaborative Learning Environments

Upcoming Events

Novmeber, 26^th - Novmeber, 27^th 2007 - Kaleidoscope Symposium 2007
(Defining the scientific evolution of Technology-Enhanced Learning)

The ERT will report it's advances in research on scripts and and demonstrate the graphical modelling tool (see below). During a 30 minute demonstration track, MOSIL and CoSSICLE will be summarized and participants will be allowed to create their own scripts with the graphical modelling tool.

"Computer-Supported Scripting of Interaction in Collaborative Learning Environments"

Computer-supported scripts aim at facilitating social and cognitive processes of collaborative learning by shaping the way learners interact with each other. Being embedded in the user interface, computer-supported scripts can optimally structure interaction as well as support the learners with the very activity they are engaged in. Scripts assign functional roles to learners and define the specific learning activities to engage in, as well as the sequencing of these activities. A typical computer-supported script could, for example, assign the roles of case analyst and critic among the learners, specify the order of interaction and the cases to be worked on, and rotate the roles so that each learner gets to play each role at least once. Computer-supported scripts can be applied equally well to a distributed, mobile, or face-to-face (joint use of a computer) learning setting without need for prior training or instruction.

"A visual language for modelling computer-supported collaboration scripts"

Visual learning modells provide different uses for teachers, learners, and researchers. Based on our discussions in the ERT CoSSICLE we identify desired properties for such modelling languages especially considering the needs of the practitioners. We also present an exemplary approach of a visual language for collaborative learning processes that was designed according to principles of educational psychology.

Past Events

July, 16^th - July, 21^st 2007 - Workshops at the CSCL 2007 at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

"CSCL and Inquiry Learning" (Monday, 9:00-16:00)

The Computers Supported Inquiry Learning SIG and the Computer Supported Collaborative learning SIG organize a workshop at the CSCL pre-conference in New Brunswick ( New Jersey, USA). The workshop entitled “Computer Supported Collaborative Learning and Inquiry Learning” aims to foster synergy between research on collaborative and inquiry learning. Researchers of all levels are invited to participate and no requirements are necessary. Planned activities include input talks and a review of contributions to the current and future state of software development and scripts for computer supported collaborative inquiry learning. Participants will then work in small groups to develop theoretical implications for a joint approach to computer supported collaborative inquiry learning, the scripting demands inherent in the developed join approach, and recommendations for further software development.(Download workshop program)

"Languages and Platforms for CSCL Scripts" (Tuesday, 9:00-16:00)

Models for Learning Processes and especially for collaborative processes are a focus of attention from different research areas recently: instructional designers, practitioners, psychologists, implementers of learning management systems, and implementers of collaborative systems all share a research interest gravitating towards a common understanding of learning processes and how to utilize these for (computer-supported) learning scenarios. The goal of this workshop is to discuss and explore the aspects of collaborative learning processes related to the contribution that computer science can provide to this interdisciplinary research area. Among these are the formalization of learning processes in a formal language, the tools needed to support non-technical users and the potential of process representations for computer supported collaborative learning. (Download description of format and activities planned)

August, 28^th - September, 1^st 2007 - Workshops and Symposia at the EARLI 2007 in Budapest, Hungary

"Analysing Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Processes"
(JURE workshop in collaboration with the ERT Production of educational formats)

Collaborative learning has been regarded as crucial to particularly facilitate key competencies, such as social and argumentative skills, as well as applicable knowledge, i.e. knowledge that can be used to solve new problems. However, empirical evidence suggests specific support is needed to fully develop advantages of collaborative learning. Fostering collaborative learning presumes that mechanisms of collaborative learning are well understood. In this respect analysis of collaborative learning processes is a key aspect of developing such an understanding of the processes of collaborative learning. Depending on the specific research question at hand, qualitative or quantitative methods have to be applied. In this workshop, we will introduce how to apply qualitative and quantitative procedures that are typical for CSCL research (but not the only methods that are possible to study collaborative processes). The qualitative procedure focuses on analysis of video using categories of analysis that relate to particular aspects of collaborative learning. This analysis includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. The quantitative procedure focuses on the segmentation, coding and statistical analysis of discourse data based on a multi-dimensional framework, which distinguishes participation, epistemic activity, social modes of co-construction, and quality of argumentation. Furthermore, we will discuss the benefits of a mixed-methods approach, i.e. the simultaneous application of qualitative and quantitative methods. During the workshop different methods and tools will be introduced. Participants will be asked to apply these methods and tools to sample data. The PhD students can choose whether they would like to work with the data provided by the workshop organisers or, for a limited number of participants, with their own data.

"Scripting computer-supported collaborative learning: Theoretical and methodological challenges"

Successful collaborative learning depends upon effective interaction amongst learners. However, when learners are left on their own, they rarely engage in productive interactions such as asking each other questions, explaining and justifying their opinions, articulating their reasoning, or elaborating and reflecting upon their knowledge. Collaboration scripts have recently been presented as a promising method to trigger these activities and to provide structure and support for open learning environments. Scripts aim to foster collaborative learning in shaping the way in which learners interact with one another. They may define for each phase what task the students have to perform, the composition of the group, the way the task is distributed, the mode of interaction, and the timing of the phase. Computer-supported scripts can be designed to facilitate collaborative learning in different ways. On the one hand, they can scaffold the interaction process per se by providing prompts, sentence starters etc. On the other hand, they can set up conditions in which favourable activities and productive interaction should occur. Beyond structuring specific activities and interaction patterns, scripts may also orchestrate individual and collaborative activities as well as virtual and physical activities within the classroom over longer time segments. However, it is also evident that scripted collaboration does not happen without problems and challenges, but different groups will act differently regardless of the same instructional interventions and environments. This symposium brings together researchers who have focused on designing scripts and evaluating their impact in computer-supported collaborative learning settings. These settings vary in terms of social levels, time-scale, tools, participants etc., but common for all of them are the theoretical and methodological challenges related to the application of computer-supported scripts.

January, 22^nd - January, 23^rd 2007 - Workshop at the CSCL Alpine Rendez-Vous, Switzerland

Computer-supported collaboration scripts aim at facilitating social and cognitive processes of collaborative learning by shaping the way learners interact with each other. Being embedded in the learning environment, computer-supported scripts can optimally structure interaction as well as support the learners with the very activity they are engaged in. Unfortunately, most existing scripts today are "hardwired" into a learning environment, limiting their reusability and making it difficult to analyze the specific effects of scripts on learning processes and outcomes. Current scientific research aims at conceptualizing scripts independent from the learning environment and learning content. Getting to the "core" of computer-supported scripts will lead researchers to a better understanding of their compositional structure and promises answers to questions such as: How do collaboration scripts work and how do they differ from other instructional approaches? What script components can be distinguished and how do they relate to each other? How can we make scripts more adaptive to the learners' needs? How can we model the collaborative learning processes in scripts? How can we make scripts reusable in different virtual learning environments? Our workshop will address both the educational as well as the technological questions and will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in both fields.
Call for participation (deadline: September, 15^th).

November, 23^rd - November, 25^th 2005 - VDS Workshop in Tübingen, Germany

The goals of this workshop (developed by members of our ERT) are to discuss problems and potentials of instructional approaches to CSCL and to introduce a theoretically grounded framework of scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning. It will be held at the Knowledge Media Research Center in Tübingen, Germany. See further details

July, 6^th - July, 8^th 2005 - First International Kaleidoscope Symposium on Technology-Enhanced Learning in Oberhausen, Germany

The Kaleidoscope Symposium focuses on the scientifically grounded advancement of technology-enhanced learning. It will include presentations of projects in the Network, as well as from other European projects in this area. Showcases will highlight best practice examples emerging from the synergies in the Kaleidoscope research community.

May, 30^th - June, 4^th 2005 - Workshops at the CSCL 2005 in Taipei, Taiwan

"Computer-supported scripting of interaction in collaborative learning environments." (Monday, 9:00-13:00, in Room C02)

Computer-supported collaborative learning does not always feature effective interaction patterns. Learners seem to have difficulties to participate actively in argumentative discourse and to share knowledge when working on collaborative learning tasks. Computer-supported scripts are activity programs implemented in the interface of CSCL environments that specify, sequence and assign roles and activities to collaborative learners that learners typically do not select spontaneously. For example, a computer-supported script may assign the roles of a "case analyst" and a "constructive critic" and first have the case analyst provide a preliminary solution to a case, second have the critic question, criticize and modify the preliminary solution, and finally have the case analyst respond to the critic and provide a modified solution. Computer-supported scripts can be represented in the interface of CSCL environments through different types of scaffolds, such as sentence starters represented in the message windows of text-based computer-mediated communication. Computer-supported scripts typically require very little prior training and teachers hardly need to intervene the collaborative processes of learners. Empirical studies have shown that computer-supported scripts can foster participation, specific interaction patterns in CSCL, and indvidual acquisition of domain-specific and domain-general knowledge. The goals of the workshop are to introduce the idea of computer-supported scripting and to discuss a framework of how to specify computer-supported script components based on process-oriented educational approaches to collaborative learning. Based on this framework, the workshop aims to work out when and how to apply what kind of computer-supported script in different CSCL environments. Description and abstracts

"Languages for modeling of collaborative learning processes: Formalization, Practical uses and tools." (Monday, 13:00-17:00, in Room C02)

"Dual interaction spaces." (Tuesday, 9:00-17:00, in Room C01)

Collaborative environments include two main spaces of interaction:
(1) The discourse space can be a chat, a forum or an audio channel or simply voice when learners are collocated
(2) The task space is where students interact with the task objects (a simulation window, a physical set of objects, …)
This distinction is shallow since the task space is obviously also a communication space (A's actions convey a message to B) and the discourse space is also a place where students manipulate verbally task concepts. Even more confusing are systems such as Belvedere, for instance, in which the task space mediates the construction of an argument, i.e. a discourse structure. However, at a very pragmatic level, these spaces are often physically dissociated, the interactions being mostly verbal on the task space and partly based on gestures in the task space. The former is often textual while the latter in often graphical. These two spaces can be mediated or not by the computer.
This workshop is concerned with situation 1, where both spaces are computerized, since it enables us to study in depth the articulation between activities occurring in each space. In most CSCL environments, these two spaces are either two different applications juxtaposed on the student screen or, at least, two visually distinct sub-area of the environment display. In both case, the computer introduces an artificial separation between the two spaces that can be questioned in several ways. Full Description

Upcoming Events

Novmeber, 26th - Novmeber, 27th 2007 - Kaleidoscope Symposium 2007 (Defining the scientific evolution of Technology-Enhanced Learning)