The Beginnings of CSCL

In the 1980s, Gallaudet University – a school whose students are deaf or hearing-impaired – developed a rudimentary CSCL program that involved a group of networked computers which students used for conversation among themselves and with the instructor in order to develop their writing skills. The program, called Electronic Networks for Interaction (ENFI) allowed the students to work collaboratively to construct appropriate English-language skills. The resulting scripts were the result of an interactive “chat,” and were not retained or archived once their purpose had been served.

In the CSILE (Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environment) Project, Bereiter and Scardamalia attempted to emulate the collaborative, constructivist learning environments found in communities of researchers. The traditional classroom was transformed by the CSILE technology and pedagogy into a knowledge-building environment in which students’ writing skills were developed and an archival text was produced.

The 5th Dimension (5th D) project was organized in the 1980s, originally at Rockefeller University as an after-school program. 5th D later moved to the University of California San Diego, where it grew into a program to enhance students’ reading and problem-solving abilities as they worked in collaboration with older and more skilled students.

Each of these early projects laid the groundwork for truly collaborative constructivist learning, creatively and innovatively supported by technology, and providing the foundations of modern CSCL as it continues to evolve.

REFERENCE

Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2006). Computer-supported collaborative learning: An historical perspective. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 409-426). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.