Mutual Benefits of Face-to-Face and Online Interactions

Abstract

This chapter presents the analysis of the participants’ interaction in the case of a representational tool-supported collaborative planning activity. The chapter begins with the statistical analysis results of the students’ participation information, which provides an overall picture about the distribution of interactions in different small-group settings. It is followed by the quality of group output at different phases of the task. Incorporating this quantitative information, the microanalysis of interaction provides references for understanding in what kinds of situation a representational tool could be used by participants (both students in small groups and their teacher) for facilitating group understanding development in a Chinese as second-language learning classroom.