Teaching with electronic collaborative learning groups: report of the ITiCSE'99 working group on creative teaching of electronic collaborative learning groups

Abstract

The integration of technology and collaborative groups has seen the development of electronic collaborative learning groups.Technology supports collaborative learning by allowing collaboration between distributed participants replacing face-to-face meetings. Technology also provides access to supporting tools and methods such as libraries, chat-rooms, and meeting protocols.One major benefit of using electronic collaborative learning groups is the ability to provide for the uniqueness of each student in a group. However, managing electronic collaborative learning groups is not simple, and the role of the teacher changes from knowledge provider to facilitator. This has implications for the amount of technical support that the teacher may require.