Representation of Coordination Mechanisms in IMS LD

Abstract

Group interaction has to be meticulously designed to foster effective and efficient collaborative learning. The IMS Learning Design specification (IMS LD) can be used to create a formal representation of group interaction, and the model can then be used to scaffold group interaction by means of coordination support at runtime. In this chapter, we investigate the expressiveness of IMS LD in representing coordination mechanisms by using coordination theory as an analytical framework. We have found that IMS LD can represent almost all the basic coordination mechanisms. We have also identified some hurdles to be overcome in representing certain coordination mechanisms. According to coordination theory, common coordination mechanisms can be reused in different settings. We briefly explore the feasibility of representing coordination mechanisms at a high-level of abstraction, which will be easier for instruction designers and teachers to understand and use.