GRIDCOLE: a Grid Collaborative Learning Environment

Research in the computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) field is currently tackling three important problems which are closely related: difficult integration of CSCL tools, scarce software reuse and technification. This work presents a Grid Collaborative Learning Environment (GRIDCOLE) that combines IMS learning design (IMS-LD) and Open Grid Services Architecture (OGSA) technologies in order to address these issues. More specifically, GRIDCOLE allows users with no technical skills easy integration and use of applications that effectively support collaborative learning processes. IMS-LD is employed to formally describe the design of these collaborative learning processes while applications are built using tools provided by third-party suppliers as OGSA-compliant Grid services. With this aim, the GRIDCOLE architecture and its main functionalities are introduced. A simple prototype is also presented in order to show the feasibility of the most important concepts introduced in this paper. Furthermore, a real collaborative learning scenario in which we plan to validate GRIDCOLE is introduced.