SubCollaboration: large-scale group management in collaborative learning

Computer-supported collaborative learning is a paradigm that uses technology to support collaborative methods of instruction. When combining collaborative learning with the need to exchange documents between students and the teaching staff in a blended learning scenario, version control systems (VCSs) greatly simplify this collaboration. Furthermore, these tools need to be adopted in regular classes as they are used in industrial environments. But deploying a collaborative environment in which version control is used does not scale for large classes. This paper presents SubCollaboration, a platform that uses the VCS Subversion to manage a large number of work spaces in a collaborative learning environment. The tool maintains a reference workspace where teaching staff introduces new material that is then synchronized with the team repositories. Two case studies are presented showing that students easily learn the use of version control and its deployment in large classes is feasible.

SubCollaboration: large-scale group management in collaborative learning Articles