A Collaborative CAD Conference Tool to Support ME

Communication is a critical component of human interaction in order to satisfy basic human needs. This is es-pecially true in technology-supported learning environments, where establishing multiple communicational channels between instructors and students is a requisite to enhance learning. Therefore, specific intervention strategies are required to effectively adjust each channel to satisfy students’ communication needs while learn-ing. However, not all online communication channels achieve the goal of including students into their learning communities. Thus, designers should understand what works best in facilitating effective communication and learning. The bottom line lies in how to foster online communication and what impact it may have on effective learning. This paper aims at exploring student use of asynchronous and synchronous communication tools, namely fora and chat tools, and their participation within a technology-supported Multimedia course. We pre-sent ongoing research results related to this specific issue, together with implications for designing b-learning experiences, lessons learnt and future work. By this we aim at contributing to understand the impact of online communication tools on student behavior and learning results.

Manuel João da Fonseca, Elsa Henriques, Nelson Silva, Tiago Cardoso, Joaquim A. Jorge
Rapid Product Development (RPD’06)
Marinha Grande, Portugal
11/2006

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