Playing video games engages children and youth and offers a potential for learning in general and situated language learning in particular. The aim of this paper is to explore the situated conditions and affordances for facilitating in-game interaction, as well as to discuss the language learning potential and educational implications of these…

The development of videoconferencing technology has enabled new modes of combining in-person and remote teaching. In this article, we investigate interactional practices in hybrid language classrooms that combine on-site and remote participation by way of telepresence technology. Telepresence robots are videoconferencing tools that can be remotely…

Increase in diversified teaching contexts has led researchers to investigate the potentials of telecollaboration in multicultural learning environments. While there are abundant telecollaboration studies, improving intercultural awareness through a theoretical model is usually under-investigated. Based on Byram's (1997) co-orientational and…

Within the European TILA project a case study was carried out where pupils from schools in Finland and the Netherlands engaged in debating sessions using the 3D virtual world of OpenSim once a week for a period of 5 weeks. The case study had two main objectives: (1) to study the impact that the discussion tasks undertaken in a virtual environment…

Communication, the flow of ideas and information between individuals in a social context, is the heart of educational experience. Constructivism and constructivist theories form the foundation for the collaborative learning processes of creating and sharing meaning in online educational contexts. The Learning and Collaboration in…

As a part of language learning at schools and universities, students write a variety of texts, such as essays, short compositions and reports, which are then read by teachers who typically comment on the content and grammar of these texts to help the students improve their skills as writers. Although teachers can simply use pen and paper, or a…

This deliverable has been produced in the context of the Knowledge-Practice Laboratory (KP-Lab) project. KP-Lab focuses on innovative practices of working with knowledge in higher education, teacher training, and workplaces. Participants of WP10 are University of Helsinki, University of Oslo and Poyry Forest Industry representing both researchers…

This study analyzed how students and teachers of one Finnish elementary class participated in and communicated through the Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE) during 1997-1998. The density of the interaction within class, students' participation rates, students' position in the CSILE mediated network of interaction, and the…

In a teaching experiment, 16 face-to-face and 11 e-mail Finnish university students studied academic debating in an argumentation course. Results indicated the e-mail students learned to identify and choose relevant grounds, while face-to-face students improved in putting forward counter-argumentation. The study suggests that argumentation skills…

Today, a variety of web-based learning environments have been developed for educational purposes, especially in higher education and continuing education courses. At the same time many studies have reported how networked interaction in many learning projects results in superficial and experience-based discussion, and does not reach the level of…

There are indications that Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and accompanying inquiry-based pedagogical practices can enhance student learning. The aim of this study is to experiment CSCL and inquiry-based approach in real classroom situations and to analyze students' approaches in inquiry process in terms of cognitive and…

Discusses the instructional processes and theoretical aspects of virtual classrooms in a school context. Reports on a three-year pilot project in Finland linking two lower secondary classrooms (grades seven through nine) with video-conferencing, highlighting the interactive network of the linked classrooms. Concludes that technology use today…

This paper deals with the research of the realization interaction in the Finnish Virtual University's network-based studies of cognitive science in the autumn 2001. This research examines the independent study of cognitive science which occurs through a network and the face-to-face study that takes place in cooperation in a group and the study…

Rural and remote learners are disadvantaged even with online provision due to poor connections. Broadband offers a potential solution. This paper looks at the initial results of a project to install broadband services in the Western Isles of Scotland. It focuses on the educational potential of broadband and the design implications for online…