Groupware

Can the technology used for online courses (distance through learning be considered groupware ? What groupware components are integrated with online learning ? Which components aren 't integrated with on line learning ? What other products are available for online course delivery

According to Skiba (2006 ) the Net-generation have particular characteristics as they are digital natives who are connected to many use various forms of communication and like interactive connectivity platforms . This is probably the reason that they are comfortable with collaborative learning and socially and inherently interested in peer to peer collaboration . This

is the characteristics of the online learners Online learners use interactive platforms and share variety of information base on the learning objectives similar to the groupware platforms . The social and geographical backgrounds of online learners can be very different from each other as it is for the teams working on groupware

On the other hand , Chang Li (2008 ) discussed the following definition of groupware technology "Technology that communicates and organizes unpredictable information [thereby] allowing dynamic groups to interact across time and space (Cameron et al . 1995 as cited by Chang and Li , 2008

The groupware systems are designed with respect to the needs of supporting the cooperative work situation or group of work situations These work situations may vary in different aspects like tasks , units of tasks , group , organizational context , culture and many others . Chang and Li (2008 ) list four situations of groupware

1 ) Same time (synchronous ) and same place (co-located

2 ) Different time (asynchronous ) and same place

3...