GroupScribbles as a rapid CSCL tool: Learning experiences of pre-service teachers

This study examines two classes of pre-service teachers on their experiences in the use of a rapid CSCL tool called GroupScribbles (GS) to design a lesson plan that supports student knowledge building. Before GS activities, the pre-service teachers used Paper Scribbles to do problem-solving - this was to enculturate them into knowledge building practices. The GS activities adopted the jigsaw design so that each pre-service teacher took responsibility of one part of the task. Our study indicates that GS can be used in the way it is designed for - as an effective rapid CSCL tool that makes the students' work visible and persistent so that everyone in the networked classroom can easily see what has been accomplished by all members. The GS activities encouraged active participation from pre-service teachers, promoted negotiation of meaning among the learners, and facilitated small-group and whole class collaborative learning. Copyright © 2009 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.