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Theme and Scope
Research has consistently emphasized that free
collaboration conditions may
fail to engage all team members in productive learning interactions. Teacher’s consistent guidance and
scaffolding is seen as a necessary prerequisite to achieve the desired
learning outcomes, however, it is very difficult – if not impossible
– for the teacher to consider all interacting parameters in order to
provide valuable learning experiences to collaborating individuals.
Scripted collaboration has been proposed as a
remedy to detrimental peer interaction. Scripted collaboration –
taking its origin in the scripted cooperation approach – is the idea
that collaboration can be orchestrated by didactic scenarios, aiming to
engage students in fruitful learning interactions. Collaboration scripts
structure and guide the collaboration process by prescribing the phases of
the activity, assigning student roles and triggering peer interactions so
that all learners are engaged in a meaningful learning situation.
The considerable interest that the scripting
approach has gained in the CSCL community has motivated efforts for the
formalization of collaboration scripts, the operationalization
of scripts in CSCL settings and the development of computer-based tools
that allow instructors to design and parameterise
the computer-based representations of collaboration scripts, which
consequently guide the group activity.
The CSCL community is currently systematically
exploring the issue of collaboration scripting through various events and
projects (see for example, the Kaleidoscope
COSSICLE project, Dimitriadis (2008) keynote
speech, Fischer (2007) plenary talk, the Alpine RendezVous workshop (2007),
etc.).
However, there are also voices calling for
attention on the issue of sacrificing the “fun and creativity of free
collaboration” to attain effectiveness. Computer-supported scripting
has been criticized for its loss of flexibility (i.e. difficulty of modifying
a script in real time according to the needs of the instructional
situation) and also the danger of “over-scripting” the
collaborative activity (i.e. the pitfall of overemphasizing script imposed
interactions and constraining natural collaboration). The need has also
been emphasized to differentiate between flexibility loss that is due to
pedagogical design and undesired constraints of computer-based scripting
techniques. At the same time, suggestions for more adaptive and intelligent
forms of CSCL scripting are already on the table.
Against this background, we argue that a
significant issue for the CSCL community is to productively reflect on
existing research regarding the pros and cons of scripted vs. free
collaboration. The focus should be on methods and tools for the flexible
representation, design and implementation of CS scripted collaboration
activities, so that educators can maximize the beneficial outcome from CS
peer interaction, reducing also any possible drawbacks from unproductive
instruction-imposed limitations, (for example, overscripting).
The goal of the workshop is to be an informal
meeting which facilitates the dissemination and advancement of knowledge
and expertise in this field. The research question is crucial for people
who approach the issue from different but complementary perspectives
(learning scientists, educators, engineers/computer scientists,
instructional designers, the LD community) and one major objective is that
the workshop becomes a really multidisciplinary meeting point providing an
opportunity for productive and fruitful interaction. It will be highly
interactive, with a substantial amount of time reserved for discussions and
hands on activities.
The workshop will focus on (but is certainly not limited to) the following
topics:
n Adaptable and flexible forms of
guidance and support in CS collaboration activities: What are the options?
n Theoretical issues on analyzing and
advancing CS scripted collaboration.
n Methods and tools for the design and operationalization of CSCL scripts.
n CSCL scripts in everyday teaching;
reflection on experiences from practice.
n Interaction analysis techniques to
inform the adaptable and flexible behavior of CSCL systems.
n Intelligent forms of
tutoring/scaffolding/scripting in CSCL systems.
n User and group models to promote
flexible adaptation of CSCL script implementation.
The workshop is intended for researchers
and educators who have a strong interest on the issue of how to improve
CSCL practice and outcomes through the flexible implementation of methods
for structured support and guidance of collaborating students.
Key issues will be the computer-supported
scripted collaboration, the implementation of CSCL scripting tools in
everyday practice and the implementation of intelligent methods in CSCL
systems to improve the conditions of scripted collaborative learning.
We welcome papers that describe speculative
ideas, work in progress, and discussions of important issues.
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Submission
Authors are expected to submit papers 5 pages long formatted accordingly
with CSCL 2009 guidelines. Up to 10 of the submitted papers will be
selected for presentation. Papers should present original and unpublished
research.
Submission template is available at:
http://www.isls.org/cscl2009/CSCL2009_Conference_Publication_Guidelines.doc
Papers should be submitted electronically
to the organizing committee (see email addresses below), no later than Monday, 06 April, 2009.
The accepted format for submitted papers is
MS Word. The reviewing process will be blind; thus papers should not
include the authors' names and affiliations or any information that could
reveal authors’ identity to reviewers. Each submission will be
reviewed by at least two members of the program committee.
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Format
The workshop will be a full day workshop
lasting three sessions: two morning sessions and one afternoon session. It will be based on a “working
groups” format.
Accepted papers will be classified by
organizers in groups depending on their major characteristics (topic of
focus, perspective employed, research evidence presented, etc.). Papers
will be made available before the workshop to all participants so that they
will have time to review and reflect on the material.
During the morning sessions all authors
will be given time to present their work and answer other
participants’ questions. It is possible to dedicate one morning
session to hands-on activities with tools and/or discussion of case studies
(this however is tentative, depended on the type and content of
contributions). In the afternoon session participants will be assigned to
working groups and will be asked to reflect on key issues and ideas raised
by the presented papers. Representatives of working groups will be asked to
summarize the conclusions of their group and discuss them with all
participants.
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Important dates
Submission deadline: April, 06
The submission period
is now over.
The submitted papers are reviewed and authors will soon be notified on the
outcome of the review process.
Special thanks to all
those who submitted to the workshop.
Workshop: June, 09
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Organizing Committee
Stavros
Demetriadis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Contact: sdemetri@csd.auth.gr
Yannis Dimitriadis
University of Valladolid, Spain
Contact: yannis@yllera.tel.uva.es
Frank Fischer
University of Munich, Germany
Contact: Frank.Fischer@psy.lmu.de
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Programme Committee
Rafael Calvo, University of Sydney, Australia
Pierre Dillenbourg, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Stavros Demetriadis, Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki,
Greece
Yannis Dimitriadis,
University of Valladolid,
Spain
Frank Fischer, University of Munich, Germany
Maria Grigoriadou,
Univerity of Athens, Greece
Andreas Harrer, University of Duisburg, Germany
Simeon Retalis, University of Piraeus, Greece
Pierre Tchounikine,
University of Grenoble,
France
Thrasyvoulos Tsiatsos,
Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki, Greece
Armin Weinberger, University of Twente, Holland
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Proceedings &
Presentations
Download
the full SFC-2009 Workshop Proceedings.
Download paper presentations
- Where Is the Script? Support for
Computer-Based Small Group Collaboration and Plenary Activities by
Means of Small-Group and Classroom Scripts
- Supporting Collaboration at Different Levels
in Computer Supported Education
- Interrelating assessment and flexibility in IMS-LD CSCL scripts
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