Contents Acknowledgments List of figures and tables List of terms and abbreviations 1. Introduction 1.1 Writing conventions 2. Background information 3. Statistics related to the primary EFL classroom 3.1 Pupils’ computer use at home 3.2 Pupils’ internet use at home 3.3 Teachers’ computer use at school 3.4 Pupils’ computer use at school 3.5 Teachers’ internet use at school 3.6 Pupils’ internet use at school 3.7 Implications for supplementing textbooks 3.7.1 Computer and internet infrastructure 3.7.2 Teachers’ IT skills 3.7.3 Teachers’ methodological skills 3.7.4 Summary 4. Choosing and using educational software 4.1 Why use computers in the EFL classroom? 4.2 What computers are not 4.3 What computers are 4.4 Types of software: correct vs. create 5. Choosing a computer-based task 5.1 Task support offered by open-ended software 5.1.1 Self-directed learning and differentiation 5.1.2 User-friendliness 5.1.3 Cooperation and job allocation 5.2 Task constraints imposed by computer hardware 5.2.1 Computer equipment 5.2.2 Location and time 6. The case for using multimedia applications 6.1 What is multimedia? 6.2 Learning software vs. multimedia authoring programs (MAP): consumption vs. production 6.2.1 Presentation of content 6.2.2 Access to content 6.3 Usability 6.3.1 Usability vs. Utility 6.3.2 Finding a high-usability program 6.4 Summary 7. The task: producing a talking book 8. Multimedia authoring programs for publishing talking books 8.1 Microsoft Office PowerPoint 8.1.1 Other uses to PowerPoint 8.2 Windows Movie Maker 8.3 Microsoft Photo Story 3 for Windows 8.4 Producing a talking book with Photo Story 8.4.1 Preliminary considerations 8.4.2 Staging 8.4.3 Storyboard 8.4.4 Work at the computer 8.5 Other proprietary multimedia authoring programs 9. The case for free software 9.1 Quality of free software 9.2 Security of free software 9.3 Service for free software 9.4 Finding the right software 9.5 Scratch 10. Conclusions 10.1 The case against web-based activities 10.2 Dealing with the limited number of computers at schools 10.3 From textbooks to notebooks 10.4 From procuring to leasing References Appendix 1: Interview questions Appendix 2: Resource CD

One of the most challenging aspects of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) research is automation of collaboration and interaction analysis in order to understand and improve the learning processes. It is particularly necessary to look in more depth at the joint analysis of the collaborative process and its resulting product. In this article, we present a framework for comprehensive analysis in CSCL synchronous environments supporting a problem-solving approach to learning. This framework is based on an observation–abstraction–intervention analysis life-cycle and consists of a suite of analysis indicators, procedures for calculating indicators and a model of intervention based on indicators. Analysis indicators are used to represent the collaboration and knowledge building process at different levels of abstraction, and to characterize the solution built using models of the application domain, the problems to solve and their solutions. The analysis procedures combine analysis of actions and dialogue with analysis of the solution. In this way, the process and the solution are studied independently as well as together, enabling the detection of correlations between them. In order to exemplify and test the framework, the methodological process underlying the framework was followed to guide the implementation of the analysis subsystems of two existing CSCL environments. In addition, a number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the framework's approach, demonstrating that certain modes of collaborating and working imply particular types of solutions and vice versa.

This PhD thesis in computer science belongs to the computer supported learning field. Various information on the learner, or on a group of learner, related to the learning – knowledge, skills, conceptions or behavior – are collected to compose a profile. Existing profiles differ in their intent, content or structure. Moreover, various learning actors are involved and concerned by these profiles. As of today, there is no technical solution in place for reusing these heterogeneous profiles. This PhD thesis aims at providing models and tools allowing the various actors to reuse learners' profiles created by others. In this work, we propose the REPro model (Reuse of External Profiles) to represent the profiles management process. To allow reuse of external profiles, we rewrite them according to a common formalism through a profile modeling language, the PMDL language (Profiles MoDeling Language). We also introduce some transformation operators on the harmonised profiles or their structure, such as the addition of elements to a profile or the creation of a group profile from individual profiles. This approach has been implemented in the EPROFILEA environment (PERLEA project) and experimented in laboratory with teachers.