Collaborative digital learning in schools; teacher perceptions of purpose and effectiveness

Research on the place of digital collaborative learning in schools has establishedits extensive use for the provision of online courses (Stevens, 2007), for learningwithin schools (Orech, 2009) and as a means of promoting inter-cultural education(Austin, 2006). Given that teachers’ understanding and practice in collaborativelearning is critical, the authors examine in this article teachers’ perception ofcollaboration and collaborative learning in terms of a model for understandingdifferent levels of engagement with digital collaboration. They also seek to explorethe reasons for teachers’ perceptions and how this may impact on theirparticipation in online collaborative learning projects.