Online Collaborative Learning. Pedagogical Design in the Mediational Artifacts

The idea to apply collaborative learning strategies widely experimented in face-toface educational setting, lead researchers to think a possible transposition mutatis mutandis also in online social environment (Delfino et al, 2006). Looking at some of the existing pedagogical planners none of them are specifically intended to support the design of online collaborative learning activities (Pozzi, Persico, 2006). In this paper we present a pedagogical reflection between two educational experiences of Online Role Play (ORP) carried out in the university context through the use of different mediational tools. In the first experience, the teacher has a specific software that manages the online cooperative learning, a “management” software ad hoc created to guide the teacher in the development of Online Collaborative Learning Path. In second experience the teacher has a plurality of tools by which he/she can (potentially) put on online cooperative learning activities.