Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

CSCL: An Historical Perspective

by Gerry Stahl, Timothy Koschmann, Daniel Suthers

based on a chapter in: R. K. Sawyer (Ed.). (2006). Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press -- with permission of the publisher.

This chapter is intended as an introduction to CSCL. It reviews the history, provides numerous references for further study and outlines a direction for future work. The view of CSCL, its origins and its future is very much a particular perspective -- that of the authors.

We felt this chapter was worth making available on a global basis, so we had it translated into a number of major world languages (thanks to Nan Zhou, Fei-Ching Chen, Hugo Fuks, Cesar Collazos and Martin Muehlpfordt):

		in American English (pdf) html
		in Simplified Chinese (pdf) html
		in Traditional Chinese (pdf) html
		in Brazilian Portuguese (pdf) html
		in Columbian Spanish (pdf) html
		in German (pdf) html

Video clips about "Building Collaborative Knowing: A Social Theory of CSCL" by Gerry Stahl. Discussions from a seminar on CSCL at Drexel University on Chapter 3 of Strijbos, et al. (2004) "What We Know About CSCL" = Chapter 15 of Stahl (2006) "Group Cognition" click here for chapter

Some papers on CSCL by Gerry Stahl -- click here for contents

"Group Cognition: Computer Support for Building Collaborative Knowledge" book preprint from MIT Press by Gerry Stahl -- click here for contents (including revised versions of the above papers)

Some links to CSCL resources:
ijCSCL The International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

The International Society of the Learning Sciences

The CSCL Conference, June 2005, Taipei, Taiwan

Keynote talks of the conference:

Giyoo Hatano, A Neo-Vygotskian Approach to Collaborative Learning (QuickTime 7 video 103 Mb).

Closing plenary paper session of the conference:

Daniel D. Suthers, Technology Affordances for Intersubjective Learning: A Thematic Agenda for CSCL (QuickTime 7 video 53 Mb). An expanded version of this paper is forthcoming in ijCSCL.

Rupert Wegerif, Towards a Dialogic Understanding of the Relationship between CSCL and Teaching Thinking Skills (QuickTime 7 video 51 Mb). An expanded version of this paper is forthcoming in ijCSCL.

Gerry Stahl, Group Cognition: The Collaborative Locus of Agency in CSCL (QuickTime 7 video 65 Mb). An expanded version of this paper is forthcoming in Stahl (2006) Group Cognition: Computer Support for Building Collaborative Learning, MIT Press.

The CSCL Conference, June 2003, Bergen, Norway

Interviews conducted at the CSCL 2003 conference (QuickTime movies):

Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld

Sten Ludvigsen

Roger Saljo

Gerry Stahl

DeLFI 2003, The first annual German conference on e-learning, Munich, Germany

Opening keynote by Gerry Stahl (QuickTime video 2.9 Gb).

The CSCL Conference, January 2002, Boulder, Colorado, USA

The Program of the CSCL 2002 conference (pdf).

The complete Proceedings of the CSCL 2002 conference (pdf, 24 Mb).

A video collage from the CSCL 2002 conference (QuickTime video 54 Mb).

Opening of the conference: Gerhard Fischer, conference chair (QuickTime video 100 Mb).

Opening of the conference: Gerry Stahl, program chair (QuickTime video 180 Mb).

CSCL 2002 Keynote Talks:

Timothy Koschmann, "Dewey's Contribution to the Foundations of CSCL Research" (Quicktime video 2.0 Gb)

Jeremy Roschelle, comments on Koschmann's keynote (Quicktime video 2.0 Gb)

Pierre Dillenbourg, comments on Koschmann's keynote (Quicktime video 0.8 Gb)

Timothy Koschmann, response and questions & answers (Quicktime video 0.6 Gb)

Yrjö Engeström, "New Forms of Expansive Learning at Work: The Landscape of Co-Configuration" followed by comments from Roy Pea and Kai Hakkarainen (Quicktime video 4.0 Gb)

Euro-CSCL 2001, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Keynote talk by Paul Dourish (QuickTime video 2.0 Gb).

CSCL 1997, Toronto, Canada

Program and videos

More websites with CSCL resources

This page includes a list of papers about collaborative learning which have been published online and are available free of charge.
http://clp.cqu.edu.au/online_articles.htm

This is a link to online journals which may include articles related to CSCL.
http://clp.cqu.edu.au/online_journals.htm

This is a list of a few software tools which have been used to support CSCL.
http://clp.cqu.edu.au/software_tools.htm

This link is to a page which is a summary of the basic theoretical views to CSCL.
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/csclstudent/Dhsiao/theories.html#what

Lester (Learning Science and Technology Repository) is an online community and database focused on innovations in learning science and technology.
http://lester.rice.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=1

CSCL for novices http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~nzhao/ctl1605/Definitions.html

ICCE 2006 tutorial: Introduction to CSCL

ICCE 2006 workshop: Asia-Pacific CSCL research community