Peer activities on Web-learning platforms--Impact on collaborative writing and usability issues

Authors:
Paolo Davoli;Matteo Monari;Kerstin Severinson Eklundh
Affiliations:
Faculty of Humanities, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy 41100;School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden SE-100 44;School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden SE-100 44
Venue:
Education and Information Technologies
Year:
2009

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Abstract

The importance of groupware tools in e-learning practice is increasing, because of their educational relevance and of the importance of group abilities in today's job activities. The paper addresses some critical issues of asynchronous collaborative tools hosted in Web-learning platforms. A model to capture user quality perceptions for these tools is presented, and an investigation conducted in three case studies where e-learning platforms were used to share and comment on written works is reported in detail. Quantitative and qualitative data are used in a complementary way to capture the complexity of educational collaborative activities. The impact of technologies on work organization, writing and peer-feedback activities is discussed. Users dedicated more time to feedback activities than they would have in real-life contexts, and paid more attention to the style and content of their writing. Communication was more focused and honest than in real life (even though more distant and at the risk of misunderstanding), and its indirectness encouraged shy and impaired people. Usability problems emerged from platform design, educators' choices and server-side settings; Web-based systems seem to pose specific usability issues when users are required a strong active role; compatibility issues highlight the need for a closer Web standard compliance.