FlexColLab: A Tool for the Flexible Design of Online Collaborative Learning Activities Based on the Adaptation Patterns

This work presents FlexColLab, a prototype tool that implements adaptation patterns. An adaptation pattern is described as a pedagogically useful and well-targeted adjustment process that can be initiated by the teacher or the CSCL system, in order to foster an improved learning setting when specific conditions occur during the collaborative learning activity. FlexColLab helps teachers in the process of creating their own potentially effective dynamic collaborative activities by reusing and customizing adaptation patterns, according to the requirements of a particular learning situation. “Advance the advanced” and “Support group of novices” are two adaptation patterns implemented by FlexColLab, and they are presented also in the paper. Additionally the theoretical background of adaptation patterns is also discussed.