A study of collaborative tool use in collaborative learning processes

Student collaboration has been shown to be beneficial in many contexts in computer science education. However, little research has been performed on the factors that affect collaboration processes either negatively or positively. In this study a partial grounded theory analysis was performed on three engineering education courses, investigating the collaborative tool selection and collaboration processes. The presence of internal team motivation and tools that had clearly perceived benefits were important to students. Some tools affected the collaborative processes positively by increasing the range, speed and information content of communication, automating goal tracking processes and providing additional avenues for information distribution.