ARCHITECTURE FOR ACTIVE AND COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN A DISTRIBUTED CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

M.A. Purvis, B.T.R. Savarimuthu, and M.K. Purvis

Keywords

Active learning, clickers, hybrid architecture, student feedback, collaborative learning

Abstract

The goal of this research is to develop a web-based architecture that facilitates active learning in the classroom environment as well as provides support for collaborative problem solving. To accomplish this goal, we have developed an active and collaborative learning system (ACLS). Using ACLS architecture encourages students in different locations to respond (in an anonymous way) to a set of questions associated with the lecture topics using devices such as remote controls (clickers), cell phones, PDAs, or laptops. Our system collects students’ responses and makes them available immediately to both instructors and students. By looking at these results, students can know where they stand with regard to their knowledge of a particular topic as well as where they stand in the class. Also, the instructors know if more elaboration on a particular topic is required. When necessary, our system allows for collaborative problem solving in a distributed environment. For example, when a group of people who are distributed across the campus are working towards solving a complex problem, the interactions are supported by the framework.

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