2010, Part of book or chapter of book (, pp. 139-160)In todays society, the quantity of information available to learners is so vast that new strategies of information processing and exchange must be continually developed and improved. E-Collaborative Knowledge Construction: Learning from Computer-Supported and Virtual Environments explores the construction of beneficial e-collaborative knowledge environments from four vital perspectives: educational, psychological, organizational, and technical. It offers several scenarios where the implementation of e-collaborative knowledge construction is necessary and then not only presents methods for facilitating e-collaborative knowledge construction, but also provides methods for assessing its results. This exciting new publication is a must-have for academics, researchers, and professionals who dare to discover new innovations!
2010, Article / Letter to editor (Learning and Instruction, vol. 20, iss. 4, (2010), pp. 265-269)Peer assessment is an educational arrangement where students judge a peers performance quantitatively and/or qualitatively and which stimulates students to reflect, discuss and collaborate. However, empirical evidence for peer assessment effects on learning is scarce, mostly based on student self-reports or involving comparison of peers and teachers ratings or anecdotal evidence from case studies. Systematic investigation of learning effects necessitates methodological, functional, and conceptual development in peer assessment research. This implies sound (quasi-)experimental studies, the definition of specific peer assessment mechanisms, and affiliations with other research domains. The articles in this special issue address these three needs and offer new directions for research.