Cooperative Work in Virtual Environments

1
Cooperative Work in Virtual Environments

• The case of the Open University of Catalonia

NL Conference 2002, Sheffield, United
Kingdom Montse Guitert Ferran Giménez Joan
Manuel Marquès Atanasi Daradoumis Teresa Lloret
2
The Open University of Catalonia

• It was created in 1995 to provide distance
  learning university-level education.
• It is a new model of university. The educational
  system is based on the concept of virtual
  campus. The virtual campus is supported by a
  communications network, overcoming time and space
  barriers and providing personalized contact
  between students.

3
Students have access to different resources of
the University
Virtual Campus
4
Goals

• To systematize cooperative working processes, in
  a virtual environment from a pedagogical
  viewpoint, to facilitate learning and
  apprenticeship processes to the student and
  teacher.
• To identify the functionalities and adequate
  tools that help in cooperative working processes
  in virtual environments and adapt it to
  different proposals and learning situations.

1
2
5
Introduction

• New spaces of learning open innovations which
  promotes the interaction and exchange.
• Learning Working in teams means the integration
  of knowledge, abilities, aptitudes and attitudes.
•  The net facilitates that the students can share
  and to participate in a teamwork, attending their
  own timetable and working space.
• A group of teachers initiate strategies that
  provide a more agile interaction between
  teachers, students and the net resources.

6
The pilot experience Case Study

• A pilot experience of working and cooperative
  learning is underway in virtual environment
  within curricular design of four subjects with
  very different
• Objectives - Methodologies
• Concepts - Timing

7
Subjects
Multimedia and Communication Transversal and introductory subject for all students that accede to a virtual environment. Period 4 months.
Software development methodologies Subject of a Computer Science studies. Representation of data computer using programming language. Period 4 months.
Informatics applied to management Subject of a Computer Science and Business studies. Analyze of business case. Period 4 months.
Workshop of Dreamweaver A workshop of 1 month, for learning and for working the tool.
8
Main Contributions

• 1. Critical Phases in the development of a
  working-team in a virtual environment, concerning
  the students activities
• 2. Roles and tasks of the teachers on the
  working-team development
• 3. Tools for working on teams in a virtual
  environments

9
Phases of a virtual working-team
10
Students activities
11
Teachers Role in each phase
12
Requirements of the tool

• Communication and information exchange
  (between the students and the teachers)
• Team organization and management information.

13
Requirements of the work-spaces

• The following elements are essentials to
  designing adequate cooperative work- spaces in a
  virtual environment
• 1. Working Process Phases of the team process,
  and activities of each phase
• 2. Kind of Communication Asynchronous /
  Synchronous
• 3. Context Classroom, Group, Personal space.

14
CONTEXT
GROUP
Personal
CLASSROOM
TEAM FORM.
Debate
Board teacher
Forum
WORKING TEAM PROCESS
Tasks Space
Schedule
Agreement Space
Debate
Board Teacher
Foulders Space
Chat
Sharere Board
Applications Shared
Personal Mailbox
CONSOLI DATION
Autoself Tool
DEVELOP MENT
CLOSING
COMU NICA TION
ASYNCHRO NOUS
ASYNCHRONOUS
SYNCHRONOUS
ASYNCHRONOUS
KIND COMMUNICATION
15
Attitudes
Constancy
Respect
Compromising
Transparency
16
Research Questions

• What is the state of art about the theoretical
  bases on Learning Working in a cooperative
  virtual environments?
• Which are the interactions and which is the role
  who play teachers, students and technologies in
  cooperative situations?
• What are the critic process on learning and
  working cooperative in virtual environments?
• Which are the main tools for working in teams in
  a virtual environments?