Considerations on the application of object-oriented reuse technology to the computer-supported cooperative learning domain

In the software engineering field, reuse is considered the key for achieving quality, reducing costs and increasing productivity. Such expectations motivate the proposition of generic, reusable solutions for the development of applications in various domains. In this paper, we address some initial considerations on the potentials of object-oriented reuse technology, particularly frameworks, in the computer-supported cooperative learning (CSCL) domain. The paper discusses the important aspects of such technology, the difficulties for defining expected functionality for CSCL applications, and describes some of the existing customizable solutions for the CSCL domain. Two of them, namely TOP and Habanero, are analyzed in more detail