CQU’s Tim Roberts is researching online collaborative learning across the higher education industry.

Students located thousands of miles from one another now chat and discuss problems across different time zones. The Internet has enabled them to interact with relative ease, even though they may come from vastly different backgrounds and cultures.

As more learning takes place in an environment where the instructor and the learner may not be simultaneously present, it is important to look closely at the massive changes in the university sector brought about by globalisation and new technologies.

How can groups with shared goals work collaboratively using the new technologies? What problems can be expected, and what are the benefits? In what ways does online group work differ from face-to-face group work? And what implications are there for both educators and students?.

Researchers at the Faculty of Informatics and Communications are interested in how collaborative learning affects students’ self-esteem, anxiety, understanding of diversity, relationships, and critical thinking.