Lead 2 Learning

The LEAD project is based on set of innovative ideas about technology-enhanced learning:

• it applies networked-computing support for face-to-face learning situations.
• it introduces concepts from Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) into the field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL).
• it adopts a learner-centred approach that considers learners as active participants of a problem-solving discussion and focuses on the possibilities of learners to manage their learning activities.
• it stresses that networked learning is a multi-faceted phenomenon that is affected by:
  1. learner-learner interaction (e.g. relation between face-to-face and computer-mediated communication),
  2. learner-external artefact interaction (e.g. appropriation of the tool, the effect of external representations), and
  3. the evolving situation (e.g. stages in problem solving).
• it stresses that technology use in practice must be supported by a coherent learning method, i.e. a pedagogical scenario. The expected results of the LEAD project are based on the ideas described above. The successful exploitation of these ideas leads to innovations in the field of:
• Networked-computing technology within the educational context: A Discussion Support System will be developed that guides learners interactions towards the resolution of the problem(s) under discussion.

The DSS enables learners to put forward their ideas in writing, to react on ideas of other learners and to organise their ideas into a systematic whole. The system provides learners with the appropriate structures for performing a problem-solving discussion. It presents the results of the electronic discussion in a comprehensible way so that it can be used for subsequent activities.

The DSS has a user-friendly interface that keeps learners focused on their discussion.

• Educational practice:
  Pedagogical scenarios will be developed that contain practical guidelines for arranging problem-solving discussions within the classroom. The pedagogical scenarios will be described as a set of best practices that were obtained from research at various schools in four different countries (France, Great Britain, Italy and The Netherlands).
• Educational research:
  The expected results on a scientific level contribute to the understanding of technology-enhanced learning processes and their effects on learning and cognition. This understanding will be materialized in lectures, workshops and publications that the LEAD partners will present for the educational community (scientific as well as professional).