This paper explores the emergence of joint problem solving in online environments where the participants work together but at different times and from different places. Collaborations of this sort have been referred to as loosely coupled collaborations. The focus is on "venue" which is the virtual substitute for physical copresence under…

This paper illustrates the experience gained within an online course, where a collaborative technique, namely Role Play, was used within an asynchronous text-based environment to trigger collaboration and interactions among students. In a pilot study, the technique was analyzed using an evaluation model and two different means: on the one hand,…

The authors work as online tutors for a BSc (Hons) physiotherapy programme at Coventry University in the United Kingdom. This paper represents a stage in our developing understanding, over a 3 year period, of the impact of group dynamics on online interaction among physiotherapy students engaged in sharing with their peers their first experiences…