EXTENDED ABSTRACT

This working group will address how Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) tools can be used to support higher education.We will clearly identify what we mean by the following relationshipsincluding collaboration among students, between mentor and mentee,hierarchically managed settings, and between human and computer. We will address the degree to which such relationships are teacher vs. student centered. We will address the impact of CMC in collaborative settings including educational goals for such courses, the kind of learning for which CMC

is best suited (e.g. concept communication versus skill acquisition), advantages and disadvantages of using such tools, and the way in which such tools can be used (as resource, as focus of learning, as tutor).

 

Overarching concerns to be addressed include: Curriculum and classroom management, accountability and assessment of student work (for example, can CMC tools be used for evaluating student achievement) and what degree are collaborative settings contrived or genuine. Collaborative projects are the norm in industry and academics. Yet there may be an inherent conflict between developing collaborative skills in students, especially at the undergraduate level, and assessing student achievement in traditional academic settings (e.g.. grading.) The goals of the group will be to prepare a paper that addresses these issues (and others that emerge) in depth. We will compile a bibliography of resources (including a web site) that provide insight

and examples of collaboration, CMC tools and the tools are used in collaborative settings. More information on the current positions of the working group leaders can be found at http://www.tcnj.edu/~wolz/collaboration.html.