Supporting group learning using a digital whiteboard

Abstract

Three important ways in which student learning can be facilitated are: getting them to work in groups, ensuring they can communicate face-to-face, and by using a computer. The question arises, can we do all three at the same time? One answer is to use a digital whiteboard. This device allows a group of users to share a workspace in an orderly fashion, and the computer driving the board can be programmed to support the students' learning. We describe some of our research where we have observed groups using whiteboards (both digital and non-digital) and our work towards producing a computer system to help and guide learners in this kind of setting. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.