Using Interactive Applet to Support Collaborative Learning of The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

In this paper, we report our experience in using an interactive applet during an astronomy course at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) as part of the Astronomy Online Labs (AOL) activity. This activity is driven by an interdisciplinary project called Cross-cultural Computer-supported Collaborative Learning for Student Capacity Building in Multifaceted Competencies through Astronomy Online Labs (C3AOL) which involved cross-cultural collaborative learning sessions between undergraduates from Malaysia and the United Kingdom. We found that the students welcomed the use of the applet mainly because its multiple representations of a single phenomenon coupled with its interactive flexibility enabled them to gradually draw and develop connections between previously unrelated astronomical concepts into a coherent whole. We also highlighted the potential risk of a “fragmented attention” scenario that may hamper the applet's effectiveness in enhancing the student's learning experience for the benefit of other instructors who wished to adapt the interactive applet in their own lessons.