MathPen: identifying and solving the problems of online collaborative learning for mathematics

Abstract

Combining the interactive communication power of Web 2.0 and social-constructivist theory in education research, online collaborative learning (OCL) has now become an area of intensive research and has generated many favourable results. Yet, the term online collaborative learning, or any other related terms, are seldom seen in mathematics education journals. This paper will, after a brief overview of OCL theory, describe the problems associated with OCL in mathematics education and offer MathPen (an online handwriting recognition system) as a potential solution