Collaboration and Problem Solving in Distributed Collaborative Learning

Abstract : Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis are utilised as resources for analysing distributed collaborative learning. Thematically we are interested in how a group of students manage their task, how they keep a joint focus, and how technology features in their activity. We present and analyse extracts of data from a group collaborating in a groupware system called TeamWave Workplace. We conclude that in collaborative problem solving the interpretation of the task and the problem solving process, is something that is jointly and continuously produced by the participants throughout their interaction. Another finding is concerned with how the participants utilise technology to perform actions. Technology does not determine action in any simple sense, on the contrary, technological tools are closely intertwined with the activities in which the students are engaged.