Using conferencing to support a culture of collaborative study

Five short undergraduate courses were run, four using a computer-based conferencing system and one paper-based to support collaborative study practices. The seriousness of the emphasis on collaborative study was communicated to the students not only through the use of conferences, but also of students’ own writing as set reading material, and of material from the conference as the basis for the final examination. Students responded best when the tutor participated in conferences in a similar style to themselves. Even when some computer-based features were lost, as in the course which used a paper file for public writing, students made significant use of this forum. However factors outside the design of the system for supporting collaboration seemed to play the strongest part in determining the value students found in using the it. These included the physical conditions, initial induction process, tutor’s participation style, and assessment practices.