Distributed Collaborative Learning Communities Enabled by Information Communication Technology

textabstractHow and why can Information Communication Technology (ICT) contribute to enhancing learning in distributed Collaborative Learning Communities (CLCs)? Drawing from relevant theories concerned with phenomenon of ICT enabled distributed collaborative learning, this book identifies gaps in the current knowledge. Many questions can be asked about the role of technology in distributed CLCs. How technology is enabling collaborative learning in learning communities is an important one. What are the issues and problems in the context of technology enabled collaborative learning, is another. The articulation of CLC characteristics stem from the Communities of Practice and Communities and Technologies movements that have taken root in twenty-first century Information Society dialog. The theoretical lens provides a framework to study this phenomenon empirically in a case study setting. The research methodology explains the choice and justification for the single case study of the Fielding Graduate University. Fielding offers a unique example of both the phenomenon and context of technology enabled distributed graduate education. The study findings can begin to be generalized to CLCs with similar characteristics to the Fielding Graduate University. Because of the need for intense collaboration, distributed collaborative learning can be facilitated by the use of rich media. Where people use media rich technologies their distributed collaborative learning results seem to be better than their colleagues that did not use ICT. Therefore, media rich ICTs with collaborative features may improve the level of learning and performance in collaborative distributed learning environments