Title:	FROM SURFACE TO MEANINGFUL COLLABORATION: AN ACTIVITY-THEORY PERSPECTIVE
Author(s):	Christian Voigt , Paula M.c. Swatman
ISBN:	972-8924-16-X
Editors:	Pedro Isaías, Maggie McPherson and Frank Bannister
Year:	2006
Edition:	1
Keywords:	case discussions, mediation, affordances, activity system
Type:	Full Paper
First Page:	35
Last Page:	42
Language:	English
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Full Contents:	click to dowload
Paper Abstract:	The present paper follows up earlier research about the implementation of case discussions online which has shown the need for more procedural guidance to avoid shallow case discussion. The limited success of case discussions in an online environment demanded a more comprehensive approach to modeling the online interaction space. In the first part we develop our model, following a sociocultural understanding of collaborative learning we depart from Vygotsky’s idea of mediated action and introduce the concept of Engeström’s activity system. Both constructs are the theoretical basis for our model presenting individual and collective activities horizontally and methodological and media-technological competencies vertically, reflecting the mediation of activities through social interaction and tools. The resulting 4 quadrants provide an analytical grid which is meant to support online instructors in detecting potential tensions within or among the multiple activities during online case discussions. In the second part we integrate a number of issues already known from the literature about collaborative learning, and use our model as an organizing principle to suggest instructional interventions which consider the interdependent nature of activities during online discussions.
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