Technology Use in CSCL: A Content Meta-Analysis Heisawn Jeong Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver Hallym University Rutgers University [email protected] [email protected] Abstract This study examined technology use in Computer Support for Collaborative Learning (CSCL). A content meta-analysis of empirical CSCL research was carried out to address three research questions: (1) What kinds of technologies are being used in CSCL research, (2) What kinds of collaboration are supported, and (3) What are the contexts of technology supports (e.g., learning domains, educational levels, and pedagogical approaches)? Empirical CSCL studies were selected from seven leading journals of the field. Analyses of a random sample of these studies showed that CSCL applications typically embedded more than one technology in their environments with the most common technology being communication technology. Perhaps not surprisingly then, distributed collaboration was more frequently supported than face-to-face collaboration in CSCL applications. Analyses also showed that CSCL was carried out across a range of disciplines in a variety of pedagogical contexts. Based on the analyses, five different types of technological supports for collaborative learning are proposed. 1. Introduction Collaboration stimulates elaboration of knowledge, social knowledge construction, and collective knowledge building [1-3]. During collaboration, learners can learn from others, pool their resources toward a common goal, and come up with a solution that might not have been possible alone. For these reasons, collaborative learning is often considered to be one of the most effective forms of learning [4-8]. Numerous attempts have been made to implement learning activities in the context of small group interactions [3, 9-12], and computers have been actively used in this process [13-15]. Although computers and other technologies were initially used to support individual learning [16-17], the development of networked technologies contributed to the emergence of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). CSCL aims to provide technological supports for collaborative learning and has been considered to be one of the most promising applications of modern information and communication technology toward the improvement of teaching and learning [18]. CSCL applications include a wide variety of applications. For example, interaction technologies such as e-mails or chat are used widely as they help learners to interact with distant partners, expanding the circle of people they can collaborate with. In addition, technologies that are not necessarily designed with collaboration in mind are also used actively in the field [18]. Computer simulations, for example, provide representational tools for scientific phenomena that can be difficult to perceive with the naked eyes. They can be used alone [19], but are also often used in small groups as students engage in the manipulation of variables, observe resulting outcomes, and construct explanations of the phenomena collaboratively [20-22]. In order to conceptualize different kinds of technological supports for collaborative learning, researchers have proposed contrasts such as collaboration around versus through computers [18] or technology as a medium versus technology as a constraint [23]. In the former contrast, the role of computers as communication device was contrasted with their role as an object (i.e., contents) of communication. In the latter, the role of computers as a communication device was contrasted with their role to impose constraints on the interactive learning process. Although these contrasts have been useful in describing the different ways computers are used to support collaborative learning, we have reached a point where a more sophisticated understanding is needed in order to better guide the efforts of the designers and instructors in CSCL. Rapid technological advancement is creating new forms of interaction daily. In addition, the success of a given technology is often critically dependent on the contexts in which they are implemented. The role of a given technology needs to be examined in the contexts of its implementation. The goal of this study is to systematically document different ways that 1Proceedings of the 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 2010978-0-7695-3869-3/10 $26.00 © 2010 IEEEtechnologies are used to support collaborative learning in CSCL. In doing so, we also aim to understand the contexts of technology support such as learning domains, educational levels, and pedagogical approaches implemented in conjunction with the technology applications. To achieve these goals, this study carried out a content meta-analysis. While meta-analysis is typically associated with verifying statistical power of empirical results, content meta-analysis focuses on conceptual aspects of the investigations. Recently, there have been several content meta-analyses in research areas related to CSCL [24-26]. For example, Hrastinski and Keller examined research approaches in educational technology. They examined 660 papers published in 4 journals in 5 year period (2000-2004) [24]. They found that the majority of the papers (68%) were empirical papers and most of them (87%) had explicit method section. About half of the empirical papers (51%) used quantitative methods, while 25% of the papers used qualitative method and 24% used mixed methodologies. Hew, Kale, and Kim also conducted similar meta-analysis in the field of instructional technology with a focus on empirical articles [25]. They examined 340 articles published in 3 journals during 5 year period (2000-2004). They analyzed research topics, research methods, data collection methods and research settings. They found that the majority of the articles published in the area were media studies or psychological studies that examined psychological processes. Descriptive, correlational, experimental and quasi-experimental methods were the common research methods with survey/questionnaires as the most common data collection method. As for research setting, higher education was the most common setting. In the field of e-learning, Shih, Feng, and Tsai attempted to identify important research trends and papers [26]. They used a combination of citation analysis and content analysis and examined 444 papers published in five journals from 2001 to