Title: Semantics-supported cooperative learning for enhanced awareness

Authors: Cesar A. Collazos, Roberto Garcia

Addresses: IDIS Research Group, FIET, Universidad del Cauca, Sector Tulcan, Of. 401, Popayan, Colombia. ' GRIHO HCI Research Group, Universitat de Lleida, Jaume II, 69, Lleida E-25001, Spain

Abstract: Awareness is required for supporting all forms of cooperation. In Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), awareness can be used for enhancing collaborative opportunities across physical distances and in computer-mediated environments. Shared Knowledge Awareness (SKA) intends to increase the perception about the shared knowledge, students have in a collaborative learning scenario and also concerns the understanding that this group has about it. However, it is very difficult to produce accurate awareness indicators based on informal message exchange among the participants. Therefore, we propose a semantic system for cooperation that makes use of formal methods for knowledge representation based on semantic web technologies. From these semantics-enhanced repository and messages, it could be easier to compute more accurate awareness.

Keywords: computer supported collaborative learning; CSCL; semantic web; knowledge awareness; knowledge management; cooperative learning; semantics; knowledge sharing; knowledge representation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKL.2007.016703

International Journal of Knowledge and Learning, 2007 Vol.3 No.4/5, pp.421 - 436

Published online: 17 Jan 2008 *

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