Summary of Research

8.1.1 Aims and approach

Despite the availability of shared workspace tools and potential uses for them, and despite interest in computer-mediated communication, shared workspaces are not being used regularly to support mainstream teaching and learning, in text-based disciplines. The research addressed this possible missed opportunity. Its aims were:

1. To find out what design features were needed in the shared workspace tool, to enable it to supp«t interactive teaching and learning in text-based disciplines.

2. To find out how using a shared workspace tool could contribute to teaching and learning in text-based disciplines, in order that potential benefits could be communicated to teachers.

The problem was treated as CSCW research, investigating support for teachers' work. Previous research had shown the importance of the teacher's role in ensuring effective use of computer-based communication tools to support learning. Th^e is also increasing recognition (see, for example, Hinostroza & Mellar, 2001) that the teacher's work has been neglected as a basis for design of educational tools. In addition, the nature of shared workspace tools suggests that their use in teaching and learning is more likely to be led by teachers than by students, unlike use of web browsers or e-mail, which are part of personal, as well as educational, computer use. The teacher's work was assumed to involve concern for the student experience and percepticms, and this proved to be the case. Collecting data œi these was considered essential.

The research aims were interpreted as investigating the design features and fimctions that were needed to support the teaching and learning tasks used in these disciplines and also finding out how a shared workspace could contribute to "good lessons". The intention was that the understanding of requirements that resulted could translate into recommendations for designers and for teachers.

A participatory approach, which originated in the Participatory Design movement, was considered to suit the nature of the problem, the user group and the technology, a novel groupware tool (Chapter Four, section 4.3.5). Such an approach has been used to find design requirements in an educational setting, though less ofl:en in relation to a groupware tool than to stand-alone educational software. To give teachers time to explore and to mable learning to develop, extended field trials were used as the basis for evaluating two prototype shared workspace tools, in use, in a variety of real courses.

8.1.2 Results of literature review

A review of relevant litCTature suggested that flexible control (of views and floor) was needed, and that the system ought not to impose controls over working process or participant roles. It was also clear that mechanisms to help users maintain awareness of one another's actions were needed. These findings seemed likely to apply to interactive, text-based teaching and learning but this needed confirmation. Existing research was limited in relation to supporting synchronous, interactive teaching and learning in text-based disciplines (Chapter Three, section 3.7). It was necessary to know more about the kind of material shared in the workspace, and the way in which it would be used. Information about the interpersonal communication between teaches and studmts, using a shared workspace interactively, was not available for text-based lessons in which the teachm was an active participant.

The literature review suggested that methodology developed in CSCW research could be used to investigate technology support for intmactive teaching and learning (Chapter Four, section 4.3).

8.1.3 Field studies

The research was carried out through a series of iterative and formative field studies, each one building on the results of its predecessors, with the degree of control over conditions varying according to the questions being addressed.

Two exploratory observational studies were conducted, in co-located classes. A list of types of activity around shared, printed material resulted. Similar activity types were seen in both foreign language classes and English language and literature classes. Given the range of new learning resources now available electronically, one might speculate that this list of activities represents an outdated picture of language teaching. However, evidence from observation of lessons and discussion with teachers suggests it is still relevant to current practice.

Following this, two extended field trials and three ancillary investigatirais were undertaken, in which the use of a shared whiteboard and a shared text editor was studied, in distributed foreign language courses. A fiirther longitudinal study, with co-located groups, aimed to deepen understanding of how shared workspace tools can contribute to teaching and learning and to account for the benefits that teachers and students perceived.

Care was taken to ensure a consistent approach. In all the trials, structured observation was combined with the use of focus groups, questionnaires and interviews. The use of a number of observers, with checklists and other mechanisms to structure and standardise observations, added to reliability. Interpretation of findings in Trials 1 and 2 was helped by the availability of data on audio and video conditions; refermce to this ensured that effects were not wrongly attributed. The participatory approach meant that teachms, studmts and pedagogical experts, Wio were involved in the research, were able to validate the findings. Within the studies, thme was a variety of different learning situations, which makes the findings more likely to gmeralise within text-based disciplines.

8.1.4 Overview of contributions made by the thesis

The research has made the following substantive contributions:

1. Information, for designers of shared workspace tools, about functions and features required in order to support text-based teaching and learning activities and to support what teacho-s considw to be attributes of good lessons (section 8.2).

2. Information, for teachers using a shared workspace tool, about the nature of the tool, the contribution it can make to text-based teaching and learning, the kinds of activities that it can support (section 8.3).

3. Information, that was previously not available in the CSCW litCTature, about design requirements particular to text-based teaching and learning and about the impact of using a shared workspace tool on the teaching and learning in the courses studied (section 8.4).

The research has made additicaial, methodological contributions:

1. Confirmation that participatory methods constitute an effective way to investigate design requirements for a tool to support synchronous, interactive teaching and learning (section 8.4.4). 2. Confirmation of the value of a programme of field studies, to carry out research into design

requirements in an educational context (section 8.4.4).

These contributions are important and timely. Chapter One suggested that opportunities were being missed, because shared workspace tools were not being used in text-based teaching and learning. When the scope of the research was defined (the process was described in Chapter Two), a primary goal was to establish the kind of teaching and learning contexts, within text-based disciplines, in which shared workspace tools could be useful. The research has shown that these tools do offer something different fi’om the Internet tools already in use to support teaching and learning. The recommendations to teachers (section 8.3) explain both the differences and the benefits offered by shared workspace tools.

The final study (Trial 3, Written Russian) attracted considerable local interest. This has already led to plans to use nte, the shared text editor, in three other courses. This supports the view that, once the benefits are known to them, teachers will want to use shared workspace tools.

However, the benefits may have wider application than originally envisaged. Although the research limited itself to text-based disciplines, and has found requirements specific to these, it has also found that use of a shared workspace can foster: immediate feedback; security about the quality of student notes; individual student-teacher interaction; tutor-supported interaction with learning materials; a sense of shared endeavour amongst students, and between students and teacher; active student participation; students' learning from one another. There is no reason to think the usefulness of these is confined to text- based subjects, so the contribution of the research may well extend beyond these.