«Advancements in Intelligent Support for Collaborative Learning»
Seiji IsotaniUniversity of Sao Paulo
Abstract
Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is an area of research that investigates how collaboration can be enhanced by technology to support effective interactions among students and promote robust learning. Although the research community has provided several evidences showing the benefits of using CSCL in classroom, recent findings indicate that over time students may be demotivated to participate in group work. There are several reason for that such as (i) lack of affective support and understanding in current CSCL environments; (ii) problems to provide adequate feedback for individuals while working in groups; (iii) poor design and evaluation of group activities; and so on. In this talk, we will discuss several benefits of collaboration to support robust learning based on strong evidence-based research. Then, we will show challenges to understand the role of group formation, activity design and interaction analysis to support the creation of intelligent environments to support collaborative learning. Finally, we will show how emotions, culture and new technologies are also playing an important role for understanding collaboration and providing more evidences to create intelligent CSCL environments that (i) form groups adequately; (ii) design well-thought-out collaborative learning scenarios; and (iii) analyze and track the benefits of group learning.
Bio
Seiji Isotani is an Associate Professor in Computer Science and Vice-President of the International Relations Office at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Computer Science from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the Ph.D. degree in Information Engineering from Osaka University, Japan. Before joining the University of Sao Paulo, Prof. Isotani worked as a research fellow associated with the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, USA. He was also Invited Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Pompeu Fabra University.
