Pedagogical techniques for collaborative dialogue technologies: A case study Catherine McLoughlin Edith Cowan University

Any technological application designed for creating communication and interaction between learners has to accomplish the test of being used and applied in a real learning context before gaining recognition as a pedagogically sound technology. In Western Australia, desktop video conferencing (DVC) was used during 1998 to provide a special curriculum for gifted and talented students living in rural and remote parts of Western Australia. The project was monitored from the outset in order to evaluate the behavioural, social and cognitive factors that affected the implementation and success of the technology in mediating learning and in achieving the outcome of higher order learning.

The main objective of the application of DVC was to combine features and potentialities of the technology with the users' needs and capabilities in a distributed learning environment, and to make recommendations for future classrooms in order to maximise learning.

In this paper, as a result of a longitudinal study of the classrooms where DVC was used, a set of critical factors for setting up learning experiences to achieve higher order thinking outcomes will be described. These include pedagogical strategies, communication styles, participatory roles and user orientation. The findings have relevance to other environments where the use of technology is used to support collaborative dialogue in a distance education context.

Please cite as: McLoughlin, C. (1998). Pedagogical techniques for collaborative dialogue technologies: A case study. In C. McBeath and R. Atkinson (Eds), Planning for Progress, Partnership and Profit. Proceedings EdTech'98. Perth: Australian Society for Educational Technology. http://www.aset.org.au/confs/edtech98/pubs/articles/mcloughlin2.html