FORMATS OF MEDIATED COMMUNICATION , discusses research on knowledge building through collaborative learning using specifics around Euroland. Here is the abstract
Abstract
"Aim of this article is to inquiry about modalities of integration of different formats of communication (text-based versus iconic; asynchronous versus synchronous) in a virtual environment called “Euroland”, aimed at active knowledge building. Euroland is a virtual world built by a Dutch-Italian community where educational, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary tasks are designed, implemented, performed, and evaluated by all the participants. The theoretical perspectives related to collaborative knowledge building and to the visualization in a 3d environment are selected to answer to the following research question: how the different communication formats available are used and combined in such environment? In order to answer to this question the analysis system designed in purpose is presented and the relevant results are reported and discussed. It is concluded that the communication formats available have a reciprocal influence on each other and ten strategies of integrating the communication formats are found and described. The reciprocal influence and the ability to generate new strategies of integration become stronger over time, since the community is more aware of the educational potentiality of each tool and of the integrated possibility of use. New and contextualized strategies are generated, depending upon each specific situation and context, constantly re-defined during the interaction among the partners and between the partners and the artifacts present into the 3d environment."
