A synchronous groupware tool to conduct a distributed collaborative learning process

Due to the high effort to implement computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) in education, the involved institutions react hesitantly to new requirements of future engineers, e.g. software engineering. The CSCW and Software Engineering Lab at University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is conducted as a project setup of students teams, each team consisting of four persons spatially distributed. This paper describes the efforts that have been made at UDE concerning the development of new education methodology in a virtual synchronous environment.