Learning in an active,

collaborative space
Beat Döbeli Honegger
University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland

Michele P. Notari
Pädagogische Hochschule Bern
School of Teacher Education, University of Applied Sciences

Beat Döbeli Honegger

University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland

Keywords: informal learning, information overload, communication-request overload, Moore’s law,

Computer-mediated communication (CMC), Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL),
Personal Information Manager (PIM), Personal Communication Manager (PCM)

ABSTRACT
Based on the implications of technological progress and socioconstructivist learning theory, trends are
being developed for tools to promote learning in the information society of the 21st century. The future
promises a massive increase in information and its ubiquitous availability, along with an increase in
computer-mediated communication. It is particularly important to understand that the communication
requests placed on the individual and the range of available communication channels will increase in
coming years. Tools must therefore be conceptualized to manage the communication and information glut
of the future in an “intelligent” way permitting a collaborative way of learning. Looking ahead, lifelong,
rather informal and problem-based learning could become significantly more important than formal
learning. The characteristics of wikis will be presented as a possible representative example and explored
based on the above criteria. The chapter concludes with prognoses on the nature of ICT-supported
learning in coming years.

“The current search for new educational funnels must be

reversed into the search for their institutional inverse:
educational webs which heighten the opportunity for each one
to transform each moment of his living into one of learning,
sharing, and caring.” (Illich, 1970, p. 2).

1. INTRODUCTION

In this section a number of prognoses are presented concerning the future characteristics of ICT-
supported learning tools based on current trends towards an information society. The discussion will
address technological developments as well as their technological and social consequences while also the
exploring the competences required for living in an information society. After describing a possible
conception of learning and showing a didactic method that can be derived from it, some characteristics
that learning tools may possess in the future will be inferred.
This section attempts to extrapolate these characteristics to their logical limits. Despite this fundamental
approach, certain important aspects of living and learning in the 21st century will not be explored in
depth. The discussion will not be extended, for example, to the consequences of globalization and
dwindling natural resources, nor to the challenges posed by these developments (e.g., living and working
in multicultural societies; sustainable development).

Figure 1. Outline of the section as a concept map

Figure 1 provides a structured overview of the considerations in this section in the form of a concept map
(Novak, Gowin 1985). An enlarged version of the presented map can be found at the following url:
http://beat.doebe.li/publications/liaacs/. The elements of the map discussed in the individual subsections
are displayed in enlarged resolution. An introductory caveat is appropriate at this juncture: Although the
concept map – which graphically displays the key aspects of each section – may convey a picture of
reality that is highly deterministic, the authors do not endorse this conception. Reality is extremely
complex, and eludes accurate schematization in a concept map. This form of presentation is useful,
however, and has been selected in order to shed light on key developments and interrelationships.

In addition, as the goal of this section is to infer the future characteristics of learning tools, no attempt has
been made incorporate reciprocal effects and feedback mechanisms between the displayed concepts,
despite the fact that such mechanisms and effects do surely exist. Please try to keep in mind the concept
map presented as figure 1 while reading the whole section. The map figures as leitmotiv, all terms,
descriptions and definitions mentioned in the subsections refer to elements and connections of the map.
Even if parts of the map are shown in the related subsections the ‘whole picture’ is crucial to understand
the presented ideas.

2. HOW ICT CHANGES EDUCATION GOALS AND EDUCATIONAL TOOLS

2.1 Moore’s law
In 1965, Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel, the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductors,
predicted in the magazine Electronics that, in coming years, it would be possible to double the number of
transistors in an integrated circuit every year (Moore 1965). Moore pointed out that, on average, transistor
counts had doubled every year in previous years and that the laws of physics did not prevent this trend
from continuing unabated. While the amount of time required to double the density of transistors on a
microchip has increased over past decades (up to about 18 months), Moore's law has remained valid to
this day. According to experts, computing power will continue to grow at a nearly exponential rate until
about 2020, when physical and economic limitations will be reached.

2.2 Technological consequences of Moore's law

With the increasing availability of computing power for the storage, processing, and transmission of
digital data, information and communication technology (ICT) is playing an ever-more prominent role in
our lives. Data are available in digital format everywhere and can be processed automatically.

Figure 2. Technological change

The universal coding of data in binary format is leading to the convergence of previously distinct tools
and media (Negroponte 1995): the computer, for example, combines the typewriter, adding machine, and
file cabinet in one device, while the internet unites the traditional media of the newspaper, radio, and
television in a new medium. Therefore Kay and Goldberg call the computer a metamedium (Kay &
Goldberg, 1977).

There are four possibilities as to how new digital tools and media can impact existing tools and media:

 Extinction: The new digital tools and media replace existing tools and media. Digital
photography, for example, has largely replaced analog photography.
 Convergence: ICT combines previously distinct tools and media in a new, unified format.
 Coexistence: The new possibilities offered by ICT are used in tandem with existing tools and
media.
 Evolution: While new tools and media are typically used at first as an imitation of existing tools
and media, with time new and previously unknown forms of use can develop.

To the present day the computer remains a visible emblem of the trend towards an increasingly
information-based society. Yet as early as 1991, Marc Weiser was using the term ubiquitous computing to
prophesize a future in which computers would become an omnipresent but hidden feature of our
environment, as they would be integrated in everyday items (Weiser 1991). The future envisioned by
Weiser is already becoming a reality: A modern passenger car boasts more computing power than the first
desktop computer, yet no one would view their car as a computer on wheels. State-of-the-art cellular
telephones also have massive data processing and storage capacity, but are not perceived as computers in
a standard sense. The majority of experts also see a trend in the direction of mobile computing. In a
survey of 578 experts, 77% agreed that the mobile phone is the primary connection tool for most people
in the world (Anderson & Rainie 2008).

The computer scientist Klaus Haefner postulated in 1982 that the increasing availability of information
and communication technologies would lead to ever-greater automation. For economic reasons,
everything that can be automated will be automated (Haefner 1982). This viewpoint – originally
formulated in the early 1980s – is still shared by experts such as Thomas Friedman (Friedman 2005).

2.3 The effects of technological development on professional and private life

The developments described above are leading to a situation in which all of the world’s information is
increasingly available at any time, from any place. In addition, individuals can communicate through
digital channels with increasing ease, and automation is on the rise. Our professional and private lives are
impacted tremendously by these trends.

The resulting challenges can be described under the rubric of more, faster, and greater complexity:

 More: With the increasing availability of information and options for digital communication, the
individual is faced by the latent danger of an information and communication-request overload.
 Faster: The availability of information at all times and places as well as the increasing automation
of processes are causing developments to move at an accelerated pace, as less time is required to
complete tasks. The free time thus attained is used to develop new processes.
 Greater complexity: The newly developed processes are often more complex as existing ones, as
existing data and processes form the basis for new ones. This makes complex processes easier to
manage and attracts users.
 Figure 3. Potentials and threats of technological change

2.4 Challenges for the individual

As a result the above, the individual is confronted by new challenges. The ubiquitous availability of
digital information and communications poses the threat of an information and communication-request
overload. To manage this threat, information and communication competences are required. The
accelerated rate of change requires lifelong learning and the proper handling of new and unknown
problems. To thrive in an information society, the individual thus needs the ability to see things from
multiple perspectives and to retain an open mind.

Haefner and Friedman both advance the view that it is fruitless to resist increasing automation. Rather, it
is necessary to concentrate on the non-automatable. Haefner envisions two such occupational groups: The
first group consists of the autonomes, who complete their work without the use of ICT. The second group
consists of the Unberechenbaren (“non-computables”), who, with the help of ICT, fulfill complex jobs
that rely heavily on communication and cannot be automated (Haefner 1992, p. 192) Friedman has
formulated a similar concept and describes this second occupational group as the “untouchables”
(Friedman 2005).

Figure 4. Challenges for learning

3. NECESSARY COMPETENCES FOR THE INFORMATION SOCIETY OF THE 21ST

CENTURY

Globalisation will increase diversity and interconnection within the world. Individuals need to master
changing technologies and to make sense of large amounts of available information. In these contexts, the
competences the individuals need to meet their goals have become more complex, requiring more than
the mastery of certain narrowly defined skills (Rychen & Salganik 2001).
According to Weinert, a competence is not reducible to cognitive skills, but instead also contains social,
emotional, motivational, and behavioral components (Weinert 2001). The OECD project "Defining and
Selecting Key Competencies (DeSeCo)" examined which key competencies would be essential in the
future. Three categories of competencies were identified by the study: dealing with socially
heterogeneous groups; autonomous action and creativity; and the interactive use of media and tools
(Rychen & Salganik 2001).

In pedagogy, the concept of competence goes back to the competence-model of Klafki (2000). Euler
(2006) proposed a possible way to operationalize Klafki’s model in the form of a matrix of competences.
Table 1 shows this matrix filled in with the concepts proposed in Figure 5.
 Figure 5. Required competences

A short description of some terms may help understanding the importance of the different competences:
Self-competence is a term described by Susan Harter (1982) referring to perceived ability in subject areas
as a whole. This makes the definition very similar to self-concept, a term associated with Rosenberg
(1965), Shavelson et al. (1976), and Marsh (1990). However, while self-concept also addresses students’
beliefs about academic difficulties and student affect, self-competence refers only to their perceptions
related to success. The term ‘social competence’ or ‘social competences’ refer to the social, emotional
and cognitive skills and behaviors that persons need for successful social adaptation (Fiedler, 2003). Open
mindedness has been pointed out by several researchers as one of the most likely characteristics
associated with successful cross-cultural adjustment (Caligiuri, Jacobs, & Farr 2000, Van Oudenhoven,
Van der Zee, & Van Kooten 2001, Yamazaki & Kayes 2004)

Dimensions of
action / Areas of Knowledge Skills Attitudes
competence

Learning to learn;
Subject Information
Information Open mindedness
competence competences
competences

Social Social Open mindedness;

Social competences; competences; Social competences;
competences Communicative Communicative Communicative
competences competences competences

Self-competence Learning to learn Open mindedness

Table 1. Organization of proposed competencies from the concept map

(Fig. 1. and 5.) in Euler’s matrix of competences (2006)

4. A CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDING OF LEARNING

Nowadays, learning is described, defined, and interpreted in very different ways. In the following passage
a short overview of one of many concepts of learning is presented. We have chosen a ‘concept-mix‘ we
suppose to be relevant for the evolving characteristics of future learning tools. Of course many other
understandings of contemporary learning concepts and theories exist.

We start from the idea that learning is a social and active process. We then describe a motivational
learning strategy and provide an overview regarding different types of learning. From these types of
learning, we point out two learning methods (active, collaborative learning) and a didactic concept
(problem based learning). The acquisition of competences in a world of increasing complexity and the
fast-pace of change, is a lifelong learning process. Since formal learning occurs mostly in childhood and
young adulthood, the role of informal learning has grown in significance. Information technologies also
offer supplemental possibilities for informal education during childhood and young adulthood (Sefton-
Green 2004).

4.1 Learning as active, constructive and social process

Using the theoretical work of Lev Vygotsky, an authority on socioconstructive learning theory and Albert
Bandura, representing the behaviourist movement, learners activity and the importance of social
interaction to learning processes are discussed:
The social cognitive theory explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns, while
also providing the basis for intervention strategies (Bandura 1997). It emphasizes the importance of
observing and modeling the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. Evaluating behavioral
change depends on the factors environment, people, and their behavior.
Vygotsky's theory of social cognitive development is complementary to Bandura's social learning theory.
Its major thematic thrust is that “social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of
cognition” (Kearsley 1994). Vygotsky focused on the connections between people and the sociocultural
context in which they act and interact in shared experiences (Crawford, 1996). According to Vygotsky,
humans use tools that develop from a culture, such as speech and writing, to mediate their social
environments (Crawford, 1996). Vygotsky’s theory promotes learning settings where learners play an
active role in learning. The role of learning manager (teacher) and learner are therefore shifted, as the
teacher should not transmit instructions but rather collaborate with the learners in order to facilitate
meaning construction in learners (Crawford, 1996).

The learning act is described above as an active, social and constructive process. In contemporary and in
future learning scenarios the social interactions are intended to happen directly (face to face) or mediated
by technology. Not only the interaction can be enhanced or sustained by technology but also the
construction or co-construction of knowledge and learners activity. Mechanisms enhancing social
interaction might be represented by communication and collaboration tools. Tools permitting and
facilitating editing and sharing of meanings enhance (co-) construction of knowledge. Self determination
theory and personal motivation may help to understand and enhance learners activity.

4.2 Self-determination and personal motivation

Informal learning requires a high level of intrinsic motivation. The self-determination theory of Deci and
Ryan describes three psychological needs that motivate one to engage in this behavior, namely, the need
for competence, need for autonomy, and the need for relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
 Need for competence: refers to the need to actively experience oneself as competent in
controlling the environment (Deci & Ryan 2002).
 Need for autonomy (or self-determination): refers to the need to participate in determining one’s
own behavior. It includes the need to experience one’s actions as result of autonomous choice
(Deci & Ryan 2002).
 Need for relatedness: refers to need to care for and be related to others. It includes the need to
experience authentic relatedness from others and to experience satisfaction in participation and
involvement with the social world (Deci & Ryan 2002).

The described needs underpin the importance of the predictions of the future tools: relatedness refers to
the importance of being involved within a social environment. Learning in a social environment is a
collaborative process, and the need for competence relates to the importance of being up to date with the
changing world and induces active lifelong learning activities. The need for autonomy refers to
independence from formal (learning) frameworks. Autonomy and environment control also enhances
learners motivation and self determination which has an impact on his behavior / his learning activity.

4.3 More than formal learning

The necessity of lifelong learning has the consequence that a one-time educational program in school and
college is no longer sufficient. Instead, continuous learning outside institutions is also necessary. For this
reason, a distinction is drawn between two different types of learning:
  "Formal learning is accomplished in school, courses, classrooms, and workshops. It's official,
it's usually scheduled, and it teaches a curriculum. Most of the time, it's top-down: learners are
evaluated and graded on mastering material someone else deems important. Those who have
good memories or test well receive gold stars and privileged placement. Graduates receive
diplomas, degrees, and certificates." (Cross 2006, p. 16)
 "Informal learning: It can happen intentionally or inadvertently. No one takes attendance, for
there are no classes. No one assigns grades, for success in life and work is the measure of its
effectiveness. No one graduates, because learning never ends. Examples are learning through
observing, trial-and-error, calling the help line, asking a neighbor, traveling to a new place,
reading a magazine, conversing with others, taking part in a group, composing a story, reflecting
on the day's events, burning your finger on a hot stove, awakening with an inspiration, raising a
child, visiting a museum, or pursuing a hobby." (Cross 2006, p.16)

The new technologies affect both formal and informal learning. Due to the acceleration of change (see
Figure 1) the “half-life of knowledge” — i.e. its validity in terms of being up-to-date and accurate —
decreases. To keep abreast of developments, lifelong learning is therefore indispensable. Formal
education (i.e. formal learning) normally stops at the age of 20-25. Because of the necessity of lifelong
learning and rising life expectancy, informal learning will increase in importance.

4.4 Collaborative learning

The first findings concerning factors that enhance collaborative learning evolved from the works of Piaget
(1926) and Vygotsky (1978), who contended that learning occurs more effectively through interpersonal
interactions in a cooperative rather than competitive context. Compared to individual learning, research
on traditional face-to-face collaborative learning has revealed numerous benefits: better performance,
better motivation, higher test scores and achievement, the development of high-level thinking skills, as
well as higher student satisfaction, etc. (Dansereau 1983, Slavin 1987; Sharon 1990). More recent
research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has confirmed these benefits and has
shown that they can be enhanced even further through adequate technological support (see e.g. Alavi
1994, Hiltz 1995, Huynh 1999, Suthers 2006, Hoppe et al. 2007). While these are important and very
encouraging results, a deeper understanding of the “inside” of the collaborative learning process is still
missing.

4.5 Problem-based learning (PBL) as an example for authentic learning situations

Problem Based Learning (PBL) is a student-centered didactical concept to promote active learning while
learners investigate authentic problems (David 2009). According to MacDonald and Isaacs (2001): “The
characteristic that distinguishes PBL (..) is that the problem comes before the knowledge (in the broadest
sense) needed to solve or resolve it.” (p. 317) Some key principles of a problem-based curriculum (based
on Engel 1991 & 1992) are:

 Active learning: Students take control of their own learning, pose and answer their own
questions.
 Integrated learning: Students do not study different disciplines or sub-disciplines separately, do
not view knowledge, understanding, and skills as distinct elements but rather as integrated; they
put the problem into the focus and make every attempt to link the classroom and the real world of
practice.
 Cumulative learning: No topic or problem is studied to the depth of the final learning outcome in
a single block; rather topics are revisited in progressively greater depth.
  Learning for understanding: For students the processes of inquiry are more important than the
facts delivered; knowledge must be tested by application, feedback is central and reflection is an
integral part of the learning process.

There is a general agreement that problem-based learning provides an environment rich in potential for
the development of a range of skills. Among the skills usually identified are: Problem-solving skills;
skills in posing useful questions; thinking skills; teamwork skills; communication skills; time
management skills; research and information handling skills; and computing skills.

Informal, problem-based, active, constructive, collaborative learning in authentic learning situations may
indicate characteristics of emerging learning scenarios (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Properties of learning situations

4.6 The role of communication in an active, collaborative learning environment

Collaboration implies an interaction between the collaborating persons and “collaborative learning” is not
always effective (Dillenbourg 1999). Its effects depend on the richness and intensity of interactions
engaged in by group members while collaborating (Dillenbourg et al. 1996). Based on common
theoretical backgrounds, collaborative learning takes place when learners get involved in knowledge-
productive interactions such as argumentation, explanation, and mutual regulation (Dillenbourg 2008).
The “knowledge-productive interactions” take place whenever the involved persons communicate to each
other. Some communicative actions lead to explanation, some to argumentation, and some to mutual
regulation of the collaborating group. The most open definition of communicative action given is that it is
action in which “the actors seek to reach an understanding about the action situation and their plans of
action in order to coordinate their actions by way of agreement. … (It is) a type of interaction that is
coordinated through speech acts and does not coincide with them." (Habermas 1981, p. 101).
Communicative action is based on an analysis of the social use of language oriented to reaching common
understanding when action is coordinated by the validity claims offered in speech acts (Habermas 1981)

We will now turn to computer-mediated human-human communication like e-mail, chat, instant
messaging, newsgroups, forums, tweets etc. Computer-mediated communication helps bridging spatial,
social, and temporal distances and permits the tracking of past acts of communication.
Asynchronous communication gives the opportunity to rethink and correct the content of a message
before it is sent and so promoting reflective learning (Hiltz and Goldman (2005). Computer-mediated
communication (CMC) has become a part of everyday life. Research suggests that CMC is not inert as a
social force, but that it can cause many changes in the way people communicate with one another,
influencing communication patterns and social networks (see e.g. Fulk & Collins-Jarvis 2001). Rice &
Gattiker (2001) state that CMC limits the level of synchronicity when interacting, which may cause a
reduction of interactivity.

Figure 7: Communication request explosion requires communication competences

What features might we expect of the next generation of learning tools? As mentioned, ever-greater
demands will be placed on the individual to engage in acts of communication in the future (see Figure 7).
As a result, CMC tools might evolve to resemble face-to-face communication, including all its stimuli. It
may also be that CMC tools merge all of the advantages of CMC with the advantages of face-to-face
communication. Communication tools of the future will also presumably be better at managing large
numbers of communication requests. Such tools may provide for the intelligent selection of relevant
communication requests. To tailor such tools, further research is necessary on communication needs (see
self-determination theory: Deci & Ryan 2002; see section above) as well as on the communication
patterns of learners in active, collaborative learning environments (Notari 2008), has described factors
influencing computer-mediated written communication; research on communication needs and
communication patterns is ongoing).

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF FUTURE LEARNING TOOLS

After elucidating some underlying principles from learning theory and describing models that appear
applicable from our perspective, we can begin to formulate an overview of requirements placed on the
learning tools of the future (see Figure 8).

An initial, perhaps banal and purely pragmatic requirement that we neither dealt with in theory nor as part
of a model, but that seems nevertheless to be quite essential is the reliability and usability of the learning
tool. Along with steady improvements in computer hardware and applications there has also been a
concomitant increase in complexity, which potentially leads to the increased instability of learning tools.

In view of the latent dangers of information overload, the implementation of learning tools will become
ever more important in the management of information, which could be transformed by a personal
information manager (PIM) of the future with the following requirements: intelligent filtering,
prioritization, and visualization of information, as well as the ability to link associations to existing
information and an intelligent storage system for later retrieval. New concepts for solving problems raised
by the flood of new information already exist in rudimentary fashion: statistical methods are increasingly
available to make information management more logical, such as self-learning spam filters, and user-
generated taxonomies (folksonomies).

Figure 8: Required functions and properties of future learning tools

Not only the quantity of information is increasing, but also, in similar fashion, the volume of
communication requests directed at the individual is rising. In the modern world, we are bombarded by
communication requests from a wide range of channels, including telephone, mail, VOIP, wall posts at
social networking sites, and micro-blogging comments. The escalating frequency of requests from an
ever-increasing variety of communication channels requires a new form of communication management.
Today, there are already services available that merge different communication channels. This helps raise
efficiency by reducing the number of channels: the same quantity of communication may no longer be
experienced as a flood of communication, because each communication channel no longer has to be
checked individually. Adequate, active engagement in communication is an additional help for managing
the flood of communication requests. Today, this kind of active “communication agent” already exists in
the form of intelligent-email absence announcements. Some agents, for example, are able to limit
announcing the absence of the message recipient to one occasion per message sender. Obviously, an
additional aspect of communication management includes enhanced learning tool features such as
filtering, prioritization, visualization, association and the integrated storage of new data.
A reliable learning tool must enable a high level of collaboration, and must make collaboration easier. We
will speak in more depth about collaboration as a characteristic of learning tools with reference to wikis in
the next section. As additional requisite properties we would postulate flexibility and organizational
independence. Flexibility consists of actions that do not depend on time or place, and in the ability to use
the same tool to tackle different problems in different ways. Organizational independence must be
promoted in order to facilitate informal learning, which is becoming of such paramount importance to
lifelong learning. Flexibility and organizational independence are also important characteristics of wiki
tools, which will be described in the following section.

6. WIKI AS A REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE

In order to substantiate the theoretical considerations we focused, we will look at a tool that is currently
available and used for learning purposes both in formal and informal settings. Our goal is to examine
which of the projected requirements the selected tool satisfies.
Because of the fast pace of technical developments, tools will develop and change. Therefore the
properties of a tool, but not the tool itself are relevant in the following discussion!
We have chosen wiki as example because it is well known, has a long and documented history of
educational use (Guzdial 1999, Guzdial et al. 2000, Guzdial et al. 2001, Leuf & Cunningham 2001,
Guzdial & Rick 2006, Schwartz et al. 2004, Bruns & Humphreys 2005, Forte & Bruckman 2006,
Schaffert et al. 2006, Richardson 2006, Konieczny 2007, Parker & Chao 2007), and because several
properties of wikis can be found in other tools like weblogs, Google Docs, sketchpad etc. There even
exists a book called “Wikinomics” (Tapscott & Williams 2007), which tries to explain developments in
economy and society with properties and the philosophy behind wikis.
As wiki is only a representative for a group of already existing of new and innovative tools, we will only
provide one example of wikis in education. Much more and extended descriptions can be found in the
literature cited above.

6.1 Potentials of wikis

A wiki is the simplest form of content management system, and were invented by Ward Cunningham in
1995 (Leuf 2001). It didn't take long until their potential for education was discovered (Guzdial 1999). A
wiki may be defined as follows: A wiki is a web server with version control on the Internet, where
everybody can create, change, and link web pages without additional tools and without HTML knowledge
(Döbeli Honegger 2007).

Using this definition, we can describe some of the potentials of wikis (Döbeli Honegger 2007):

 Create: creating content activates and motivates learners, two important prerequisites for learning
 Change: Wikis ease the modification of content (like all computer-based editors). This allows
more revisions of a text which fosters re-reading and re-thinking the text and therefore can
enhance the learning effect.
 Link: Wikis allow links between different parts of a text (like all hypertext systems). This
requires that learners read and understand the parts they want to link and find fitting relationships.
This enhances the discussion about the topic.
 Everybody: Wikis ease collaborative content creation and therefore ease working in interest-
groups.
 Revision control: The integrated revision control of wikis not only lowers the danger and damage
of vandalism. The revision control can also be used to look at the creation process by the teacher
and the students. This can foster reflection about working and learning strategies (so called
history pages).
  On the internet: As wikis can be hosted on a server on the internet, schools don't have to install
hardware in their own buildings and the wiki can be accessed from everywhere
 Without additional tools: As wikis only need a web browser as a tool, there is no need for
software installation on the learners’ computers. This lowers the barriers for using wikis as a
learning tool.

6.2 Wikis and the needs of future learners

In the following we will examine which of the required characteristics of future learning tools are already
available in today’s wikis. Table 2 shows a comparison between the rudimentary properties of existing
wikis and the required properties of future learning tools.

Required properties of future Properties of existing Wikis

tools

Institutional independence wiki architecture is open and allows institutional

independence

Supporting auto-reflection version control and discussion pages support

auto-reflection

Flexible Lack of predefined structures fosters flexible

use

Collaborative wiki architecture is designed for collaboration

Personal information management Is only supported to a limited extent by wikis at

present

Personal communication Is hardly supported at all by wikis at present

management

Table 2: Requirements placed on future tools

The openness of wikis reflects the requirement for institution-independent tools. Unlike other groupware
tools or learning management systems, wikis do not try to reproduce organizational structures. In
addition, little about the architecture of the tool would stand in the way of broad uses across multiple
organizations. The requirement for auto-reflection is supported by wikis in a number of respects. In wikis,
revision control enables the documentation of the development process and thereby enables historical
reflection. In a similar fashion, discussion pages on certain wiki engines promote meta-reflection on the
part of the authors, as an explicit place is provided for such levels. The ‘lack of predefined structures’
may rise questions about effectiveness of the tool for active collaborative learning purposes. Following
Jadin and Batinic (2006) students working with structured tools like a forum or a weblog worked more
effectively than people using a wiki. The results of Jadin and Batinic relate to a formal university learning
unit where the wiki was used for the first time. Tools used in the future might consider this fact and offer
‘intelligent’ structuring possibilities following specific learners needs or users might learn how to cope
with the freedom of unstructuredness.

Wikis are rightly considered the most flexible content management systems, because they impose only
the most minimal structure and leave the rest to the users. Wikis also fulfill the requirement for
collaborative tools to a considerable degree, as Wikis were designed from the beginning to be multi-user
systems. Correspondingly, it has been a fundamental goal of Wikis to promote and simplify the process of
collaborative work. The situation with respect to personal information management is more ambiguous.
On the one hand, wikis could certainly be used for this purpose, but offer very little automation toward
this end. Current research in the area of semantic wikis and the visualization of wikis (see, for example,
Schaffert et.al. 2006, Stickel, Ebner & Holzinger 2008), could ameliorate this deficit in the near future.
Wikis offer hardly any practical support for personal communication management. In this respect, it is
important to recall that no single tool is likely to be able to meet all requirements placed on future
learning tools.

6.3 Example: Collaborative authoring of Wikipedia articles as a learning process

The previous theoretical considerations can now be illustrated by the exercise of collectively composing a
Wikipedia article. The creation of a Wikipedia article can be conceptualized as a problem-oriented
collaborative learning situation (Lawler 2006). The authors of a Wikipedia article can learn something
themselves, even if they originally approach the situation with the idea of documenting something already
known to them. On the one hand, the process of writing can itself lead to a deeper level of understanding,
because implicit knowledge must thereby be made explicit. In particular, however, the collaboration and
criticism of other authors can lead to the “perturbation” of one’s own understanding and, as a result, to a
learning process (Lawler 2006).

Writing a Wikipedia article can relate to formal and also informal learning. Learners can have the
assignment to create or revise a Wikipedia article in a formal learning setting (Konieczny 2007). It is also
possible that something is learned in the course of writing an article in an informal context. Finally, there
are also Wikipedia authors who deliberately write articles in the hope of learning something about the
topic involved (Forte, Bruckman 2007).

Revision control in Wikipedia permits an author to follow the evolution of the articles. With articles that
have multiple authors, established modifications may be rescinded from time to time following
consultation with the original authors.

Communication between Wikipedia authors most often takes place within the confines of Wikipedia
itself, since for every article there also exists an associated discussion page. Within this discussion site,
individual comments and viewpoints of the authors are debated. An enormous learning potential can be
attributed to this process of discussion and debate (see the section on Collaborative learning). Even when
individual authors do not have the impression that they have learned from creating or modifying their
articles, in the process of discussion one’s own perspective is necessarily juxtaposed with other
viewpoints. Ideally, the confrontation leads to compromise and the article will be adapted accordingly.
This adaptation of texts may lead to a transformation of the mental model held by all participants.
According to Piaget, this would constitute an accommodation in response to a discordant perturbation
caused by a different perspective (Piaget 1937).

Over time, a Wikipedia article is linked to a number of related articles. This process of linking is in and of
itself a learning process: an existing concept (content and meaning of a concept or facts relating to an
article) is connected to another similar and already established concept. In addition, linking may lead to
perturbations and related discussions that ultimately lead to a learning process.

A paper which has been often cited as of late, Studying cooperation and conflict between authors with
history flow visualizations, by Viégas et al. (2004), quite clearly visualizes the never-ending,
collaborative, generative process of creating Wikipedia articles described above, and, at the same time, is
an example of a needed tool for the future, one that eases the individual’s management of the challenges
posed by a flood of information.

7. CONCLUSION
Due to the rising complexity of problems in the future and the increasing capacity of the technical tools
available, the importance of communication and collaboration will rise and informal learning will become
more important. Instruction-based approaches will decrease and constructivist methods like PBL will
become more popular. The tools of the future will render many repetitive work processes obsolete. They
will also help us manage complex problem-solving activities, while easing collaborative and
communicative tasks.

Competences that allow us to manage information- and communication-based environments will become
more important considering the rising tide of information and communication requests we will be forced
to manage Tools sustaining information- and communication management in different learning settings
should optimize the following properties: First of all collaboration and flexibility are crucial due to the
complexities of upcoming problems to solve. We also predict the importance of institutional
independence due to the increasing importance of informal learning. Such informal problem solving
activities also call for tools improving auto reflection mechanisms.
In the dynamic and interdependent world in which we live, learning and communication capabilities are
becoming as crucial as knowledge. A main goal of institutional design should be to increase the learning
and communication capabilities of the system and its constituents.

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