Potential and Impact Factors of the Knowledge and Information Awareness Approach for Fostering Net-Based Collaborative Problem-Solving: An Overview

For effective communication and collaboration in learning situations, it is important to know what the collaboration partners know. However, the acquisition of this knowledge is difficult, especially in collaborating groups with spatially distributed members. One solution is the Knowledge and Information Awareness approach developed by Engelmann and colleagues. This approach provides spatially distributed collaborating group members digital visualizations of the knowledge and the information underlying the knowledge of their partners. The current article gives an overview regarding the empirical studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of the Knowledge and Information Awareness approach: A first set of experimental studies confirmed the effectiveness of this approach to foster both knowing what the collaborators know and knowing to which information they have access. A second set of experimental studies identified the underlying impact factors of the Knowledge and Information Awareness approach. The third set of experimental studies showed the potential of the approach to overcome arising collaboration barriers. The article concludes with a discussion regarding the limits of the approach and its applicability in real learning settings, such as in schools.