Collaborative learning techniques and their extensions to virtual classrooms

A wide variety of classroom techniques are being advocated to increase learning: active learning, collaboration, integration of assessment and feedback, and the use of concrete physical manipulatives. Through the construction of learning modules, the authors have transformed these techniques into practical classroom tools. Learning modules often include relevant physical examples (classroom desktop experiments or demonstrations or schematics), PowerPoint presentations and, often, concept questions. Students study the physical artifacts, with the instructor guiding the class through the PowerPoint presentations so as to deliberately focus student attention on relevant aspects of these artifacts. There is clearly an increased interest in devising effective learning environments when students are distributed geographically. This paper addresses some of the challenges and opportunities for the extending our in-class collaborative learning techniques. While there are technical challenges to realizing this vision, there are also opportunities to develop environments, which are, in some respects, superior to the in-class environment.