Lost in Translation from Abstract Learning Design to ICT Implementation: A Study Using Moodle for CSCL

Abstract

In CSCL, going from teachers´ abstract learning design ideas to their deployment in VLEs through the life-cycle of CSCL scripts, typically implies a loss of information. It is relevant for TEL and learning design fields to assess to what extent this loss affects the pedagogical essence of the original idea. This paper presents a study wherein 37 teachers’ collaborative learning designs were deployed in Moodle with the support of a particular set of ICT tools throughout the different phases of CSCL scripts life-cycle. According to the data from the study, teachers considered that the resulting deployment of learning designs in Moodle was still valid to be used in real practice (even though some infor- mation is actually lost). This promising result provides initial evidence that may impulse further research efforts aimed at the ICT support of learning design practices in the technological context dominated by mainstream VLEs.