Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project.

Cajander, �sa; Daniels, Mats; Cullhed, Mats; Clear, Tony; McDermott, Roger; Laxer, Cary

Abstract

Possibilities for collaboration in globally distributed projects have radically changed with the introduction of new Collaborative Technologies (CTs) in the Web 2.0 era. The use of such technologies in the context of students collaborating in a globally distributed project is little explored in research. A better understanding would provide opportunities for improving the collaboration, and more importantly is that a better understanding would improve the possibility of scaffolding, and student learning in general. In this paper we present results from a study of students' use of CTs in a globally distributed project with a focus on the challenges encountered in trying to collaborate using this technology. The study is focused on a few aspects of how a combination of CTs could be utilized and issues associated with their set up and adaption for use. We discuss potential reasons for the observed patterns of technology use and how they influenced the collaboration environment around a globally distributed student project.

Citation

CAJANDER, A., DANIELS, M., CULLHED, M., CLEAR, T., MCDERMOTT, R. and LAXER, C. 2012. Categorizing how students use collaborative technologies in a globally distributed project. In Proceedings of the 2012 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2012): soaring to new heights in engineering education, 3-6 October 2012, Seattle, USA. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE [online], article number 6462411. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462411

• Conference Name: 2012 Frontiers in education conference (FIE 2012)
• Conference Location: Seattle, USA
• Start Date: Oct 3, 2012
• End Date: Oct 6, 2012
• Acceptance Date: Oct 6, 2012
• Online Publication Date: Oct 6, 2012
• Publication Date: Feb 19, 2013
• Deposit Date: Mar 14, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 14, 2017
• Print ISSN: 0190-5848
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• Article Number: 6462411
• Series ISSN: 0190-5848
• ISBN: 9781467313537
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2012.6462411
• Keywords: Component; Survey; Reflections; Open ended group projects; Global collaboration; Collaborative technologies
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2216