Bridging and Persistence in Sustained, Collaborative Problem Solving Online

The Virtual math teams (VMT) project investigates the innovative use of online collaborative environments to support effective mathematical problem-solving by small groups of learners in an online community. A key research issue for us is to understand how team interactions evolve over time and how to support them effectively. As designers, we expect the persistent records of the teams\´ interactions provided in the VMT environment to contribute to the sustainability of the teams\´ knowledge work. Our analysis of data collected from distributed virtual teams working on open-ended mathematical tasks across multiple sessions shows the situated usage of such persistent artifacts. In particular, we observe a series of "bridging" methods used to co-construct mathematical knowledge over time, evolve a sense of collectivity, and interlink the online environment with other interaction spaces. We propose that bridging, the purposeful crossing of interactional boundaries, is a consequential and often unsupported aspect of the collaborative user experience