Online collaborative work in a teacher training course on ICT for Nursing teachers and professionals

Abstract

The aim of this work is describe and analize the observed interactions of students in online forums associated to collaborative work, developed in a blended-learning ICT course for teachers and graduated Nurses, using the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning approach. A case study research methodology was designed. The communication in selected  online forums was studied, combining participation indicators associated with writing and content message analysis. Most of the posted messages were found related with the proposed task. The most frequent indicators found in the content analysis were linked to contribution of ideas and the projected task situation. A positive relationship between participation and the arranged tasks was observed for the collaborative online work. This participation could be characterised applying indicators that identify elements linked to the messages depth from a cognitive perspective and also considering the participants interactions