Interlearn - A tool for collaborative learning

InterLearn is a web-based learning tool to support collaborative learning. It is built on a data base structure that allows students’ responses to online activities to be stored and viewed. Students’ responses can be shared, that is, searched and viewed by their peers, or viewed only by their tutor. The prominent characteristic which makes InterLearn different to other online learning tools, is that students can edit their responses to the activities as many times as they wish within a given timeframe. This facility is to support students learning from each other and building arguments collaboratively. InterLearn was developed for institutional-wide use and is integrated to the My.Monash Portal. On-campus and off-campus students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels are currently using it. This paper includes examples of the use of InterLearn in science, education, psychology and law programs, and concludes with some preliminary evaluation results and future directions.