On Supporting Users ’ Reflection during Small Groups Synchronous Collaboration

Abstract. During computer-mediated synchronous collaboration there is need for supporting reflection of the partners involved. In this paper we study techniques for determining the state of an evolving collaborative process, while the activity is in progress, making the users aware of this state. For this reason, a State of Collaboration (SoC) indicator has been defined, which is calculated using a combination of machine-learning and statistical techniques. Subsequently a study was performed during which SoC was presented to a number of groups of collaborating partners engaged in problem-solving activities. It was found that this group awareness mechanism influenced in a significant way the behavior of the groups in which it was used. This study has wider implications to the design of groupware and in particular towards gaining an insight into the effect of group awareness mechanisms on computermediated collaborative learning

Beyond Logging of Fingertip Actions: Analysis of Collaborative Learning Using Multiple Sources of Data

In this article, we discuss key requirements for collecting behavioural data concerning technology-supported collaborative learning activities. It is argued that the common practice of analysis of computer generated log files of user interactions with software tools is not enough for building a thorough view of the activity. Instead, more contextual information is needed to be captured in multiple media like video, audio files, and snapshots, in order to re-construct the learning process. A software environment, Collaborative Analysis Tool, (ColAT) that supports interrelation of such resources in order to analyse the collected evidence and produce interpretative views of the activity is described