ANTS: a new Collaborative Learning Framework

Abstract

CSCW and MOO environments have played an important role in CSCL research. These multi-user community-ware frameworks enhance social interactions and shared experience and thus enabling new CSCL research. We however find some limitations in existing platforms: technology limitations and a lack of solid collaborative services. We present ANTS: a collaborative framework that aims to provide a solid foundation for CSCL applications. In one side, the framework is constructed on top of cutting-edge technologies like J2EE (EJB, JSP, Servlets), Notification services (Elvin, JMS) and XML. In the other side, ANTS provides solid CSCW services that make the system robust and extensible. We also present a concrete ANTS extension: JLE, a collaborative learning environment including services like course management, assessment management, collaboration, progress tracking and tutorware