Usability evaluation of distributed groupware in distance learning

This paper deals with the development of an inspection method for the evaluation of synchronous groupware in e-Learning. Distributed groupware are software applications that are able to facilitate collaboration among groups of people over the Internet. These applications are difficult to evaluate due to presence of multiple users working collaboratively in educational or business settings. Recently researchers have investigated the suitability of inspection methods to complement traditional evaluation techniques. So far, such techniques have been applied primarily to groupware within businesses. In this paper, we look at how some of these techniques could be adapted and extended for the evaluation of groupware in learning.