De senaste årens tekniska utveckling på datorområdet har även gett återverkningar inom distansutbildningen. Den nya Informationstekniken (IT) har används mest för att utveckla kommunikationen mellan lärare och studenter på distansutbildningarna. I utgångsläget har tekniken alltså används för att underlätta arbetet inom kurserna, inte för att utveckla metoder för hur undervisning ska bedrivas. Elektroniskt lärande (e-learning) kan förklaras som ”Teknikbaserat lärande” (technology-based learning) och innefattar all form av undervisning som sker med hjälp av elektroniska media. Betoningen på lärande visar att tyngdpunkten förflyttats från hur utbildningen genomförs, till ett innehåll i utbildningen. Det finns behov av förbättringar för effektivare e-lärande inom distansutbildning. Samarbete och gemensam arbetsuppgift anses vara till hjälp vid lärande. I hög grad sker utbildning och dialog inom distansundervisning och e-lärande asynkront. Detta innebär att deltagarna inte samtidigt har direktkommunikation med varandra utan kommunikationen sker i med e-post.För att kunna möta möjligheterna till effektivare e-lärande borde en möjlighet till synkront kollaborativt arbete över gemensam arbetsyta vara av intresse.Syftet med projektet var att utveckla en synkron kollaborativ bild- och textbaserad applikation för e-lärande. Baserad på forskaren inom kognitionsvetenskap Maria Larssons rapport om fem faktorer för effektivare e-lärande samt utvärdera dessa genom en prototyp. Applikationen var tänkt att användas vid ett moment i ämnet "Organisationskommunikation" inom en distanskurs, där studenterna skulle bilda sig en uppfattning om en organisations kultur. Applikationen testades vid två tillfällen, först som ett koncepttest och därefter som en digitalt konstruerad prototyp. Tre personer deltog vid varje testtillfälle.Koncepttestet genomfördes med observation av deltagarna med dokumenterad ljudinspelning av dialogen samt efterföljande intervjufrågor. Prototyptestet utfördes med observation och med ”think-aloud” metoden samt intervjufrågor. Här skedde dokumentationen med hjälp av ljudinspelning samt skärmdumpar.Utvärderingen utgjordes av observation och intervjuer med testdeltagarna och visade att applikationen till stor del baserades på Maria Larssons fem faktorer. Min slutsats är att det varit möjligt att utveckla en applikation som till stor del baseras på de fem faktorerna och att konceptet samt prototypen kan vidareutvecklas. Värdet av ett par enstaka test kan vara begränsat då det enbart gällt sex personer. Utökade testsessioner med flera olika grupper hade kunnat ge mer tillförlitliga resultat. Jag finner att det är angeläget med fortsatt forskning angående inlärning via Internet. / The technological development during the recent past, i.e. information technology (IT), has presented new possibilities for distance learning. IT has, so far, mostly been used to enhance the communication between teachers and students. With e-learning or technology-based learning the emphasis is rather on content in education instead of how education is performed. There is a need of improvements for more efficient e-learning within distance learning. The objectives of this study were to develop synchronous collaborative software application, based on five factors for more efficient e-learning, that researcher in cognition science Maria Larsson presented 2001. The software application was evaluated through a case study in a distance course of Organisation communication. The task was how to identify the culture in a specific organisation.The application was tested on two occasions with three participants at each occasion. The first test was as low-tech concept test and the second test was made with the use of the digital prototype. On both occasions the participants reflections was recorded during the test sessions and after the tests interviews were performed with each participant. My conclusions following the evaluation of the observations and the responses to the interviews are that it is possible to develop an application based on the five factors (learning styles, narrative form, collaboration, interaction and feedback) for more efficient e-learning. However, more research and testing are needed.

The proliferation of web based technologies has resulted in new forms of communities and organizations with enormous implications for design of learning and education. This thesis explores learning occurring within open source software (OSS) communities. OSS communities are a dominant form of organizing in software development with implications not only for innovative product development but also for the training of a large number of software developers. The central catalyst of learning within these communities is expert-novice interactions. These interactions between experts and novices or newcomers are critical for the growth and sustenance of a community and therefore it is imperative that experts are able to provide newcomers requisite advice and support as they traverse the community and develop software. Although prior literature has demonstrated the significance of expert-novice interactions, there are two central issues that have not been examined. First, there is no examination of the role of external events on community interaction, particularly as it relates to experts and novices. Second, the exact nature of expert help, particularly, the quantity of help and whether it helps or hinders newcomer participation has not been studied. This thesis studies these two aspects of expert-novice interaction within OSS communities. The data for this study comes from two OSS communities. The Java newcomer forum was studied as it provided a useful setting for examining external events given the recent changes in Java's ownership. Furthermore, the forum has a rating system which classifies newcomers and experienced members allowing the analysis of expert-novice interactions. The second set of data comes from the MySQL newcomer forum which has also undergone organizational changes and allows for comparison with data from the Java forum. Data were collected by parsing information from the HTML pages and stored in a relational database. To analyze the effect of external events, a natural experiment method was used whereby participation levels were studied around significant events that affected the community. To better understand the changes contextually, an extensive study of major news outlets was also undertaken. Findings from the external event study show significant changes in participation patterns, especially among newcomers in response to key external events. The study also revealed that the changes in participation of newcomers were observed even though other internal characteristics (help giving, expert participation) did not change indicating that external events have a strong bearing on community participation. The effect of expert advice was studied using a logistic regression model to determine how specific participation patterns in discussion threads led to the final response to newcomers. This was supported by social network analysis to visually interpret the participation patterns of experienced members in two different scenarios, one in which the question was answered and the other where it was not. Findings show that higher number of responses from experienced members did not correlate with a response. Therefore, although expert help is essential, non-moderated or unguided help can lead to conflict among experts and inefficient feedback to newcomers. / Master of Science

Collaborative writing technologies such as Google Docs is believed to be a helpful tool in supporting the development of constructivist learning environments. However, not much research has been done among special populations outside the United States. This dissertation examines how using google docs can enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students at a university in Oman. A total of 52 students participated in this study, where they completed a collaborative writing activity using Google Docs. This exploratory study yielded quantitative as well as qualitative data. Interviewees shared their experience of using Google Docs for the collaborative writing activity. The research shows that Google Docs promoted collaborative interactions among students, such as learning from each other and communicating with the teacher. Interestingly, the data indicate that students used alternate social media such as WhatsApp to communicate with their group mates regarding the collaborative writing activity. Overall, the results obtained here confirm that the Google Docs can be used to enhance collaborative learning among non-native English-speaking students.

本研究旨在探討如何設計以建構主義為基礎的網際網路合作學習環境，以研發二次函數網際網路課程，並藉由實驗研究法分析在網際網路合作學習情境中，不同的學習型態與認知風格對於學習成效之影響，最後以質性研究法探討學生合作互動歷程之認知模式及相關影響因素，並分析學生學習二次函數易犯之錯誤類型。 本研究使用之研究方法包括學習軟體研發、實驗研究法、問卷調查法、晤談法、及內容分析法。研究者首先研發及評量「二次函數網際網路課程」，並隨機選擇國民中學二年級學生60名為研究對象，依學習型態及學生認知風格分成內控單獨組、外控單獨組、內控合作組、外控合作組、內外控混合合作組等五組進行教學實驗。俟教學實驗後進行紙筆測驗、問卷調查、及晤談，研究者並搜集學生在電子白板上的對話進行內容分析。根據研究結果分析，本研究主要之結論如下： 一、網際網路合作學習環境有助於學生學習數學二次函數概念在網際網路合作學習環境中，提供合作的視覺學習環境，協助學習者多重轉化代數表徵成為幾何表徵的動態網頁，使學習者在不同條件脈絡中進行比較、反思，以了解二次函數中代數與幾何的關係，已有具體的教學成效。 二、 在網路學習環中，不同認知風格的學生在個別學習效果上有差異存在在網際網路個別學習環境中，內控組的學習成效顯著優於外控組。即在網際網路學習環境中，採用個別學習策略，具外控取向特質的學習者，學習成效不佳；而具內控取向特質的學習者，有較佳的學習成效。 三、在網路學習環境中，不同認知風格的學生在合作學習效果上未有顯著差異存在在網際網路合作學習環境中，內控合作組、外控合作組、及內外控混合合作組的學習成效無顯著差異。研究顯示透過合作學習可提升外控取向學習者的學習成效，淡化認知風格對學習者的影響。 四、 網際網路合作學習互動歷程為個人建構、群體澄清、知識重構、群體重構的認知改變模式在網際網路合作學習互動歷程中，個人先形成自我的知識概念，並將個人建構的基模公開呈現與他人分享，當個體的認知概念間產生差異時，合作群體間即產生質疑，並提出澄清，經澄清後合作群體彼此協商，重構知識、統合意見並產生共識，即成為合作小組的認知概念。 五、 同儕模式的網際網路合作學習方式缺少高支持性鷹架結構以同儕為基礎的網際網路合作學習環境中，因學生的先備知識不足及溝通技巧的缺乏，容易產生錯誤概念的學習及習得片斷的知識。是以，針對年齡小或能力低的學習者所設計的網際網路合作學習課程，教師的參與討論與互動是必要的，以能提供學習者高支持性鷹架結構。 六、 在網際網路合作學習環境的互動歷程中，外控取向學習者佈題的行為多於內控取向學習者研究中發現外控取向學習者佈題的行為多於內控取向學習者，內控取向學習者解題的行為多於外控取向學習者。 根據研究結果，本研究提出下列建議，以供教學者、教學媒體設計者、教育行政單位、及後續研究者之參考： 一、應整合學科專家、教育專家、電腦網路程式設計師、美術專業人士以研發更符合學習者需求的網路課程。 二、宜針對學習者特性提供不同的網路教學策略，使建構的網際網路課程更符合學習者的需求。 三、在網際網路合作學習環境中，課程設計應以討論情境、分享知識、及解決問題為主，始能提升合作成效。 四、宜訂定網路界面設計標準及評鑑指標，以做為網路課程發展的依據。 五、在網際網路合作學習環境中，教師應適度參與學生的討論活動，提供鷹架支持的功能。 六、應加強國家整體網路基礎建設，使能改善網路教學品質，提高學習成效。 / The Purpose of this study is threefold.　One is to explore how to design a quadratic function internet curriculum in the internet computer-based collaborative learning environment, based on constructivism. Second, learning effects of different learning styles and cognitive styles in the internet collaborative learning context are analyzed through empirical research methods. Third, the students' cognitive modes and other relative factors in the collaborative learning interaction process, as well as the students' frequent error types in learning quadratic functions, are identified and analyzed through qualitative research methods. The research methods adopted in this study include the development of learning software, empirical research methods, questionnaires, interviews, and content analysis. The researcher first developed and assessed the "internet curriculum of quadratic functions", and selected 60 second graders of a junior high school as research subjects, according to the students' learning and cognitive styles, and categorizing them into the group of internal locus of control with individual learning, the group of external locus of control with individual learning, the group of internal locus of control collaborative learning, the group of external locus of control with collaborative learning, and the group of mixing internal-external locus of control with collaborative learning to implement teaching experiments. After the experiments were finished, the research conducted a written test, questionnaire surveys, and interviews. Besides, the students' dialogue data on Bulletin Board System was collected and analyzed. Based on the analysis results of this study, the main conclusionsare as follows: 1. Internet collaborative learning environment facilitates students learning the concepts of quadratic functions. In the environment of the internet collaborative learning, interactive web pages provide visualized collaborative learning context, assist learners to transform algebraic representation into geometric representation, and give learners opportunities to compare and rethink in different conditions about the relations of algebra and geometry in quadratic functions.　All of which have been proved to have concrete learning effects. 2. In the environment of the internet learning, individual learning effect differences exist among students of different cognitive learning styles. In the environment of the internet individual learning, learning effects of the external control group are better than those of the internal control group. In other words, learners with external locus of control, using individual learning strategies do not have good learning effects.　However, learners with internal locus of control have better learning effects. 3. In the environment of the internet learning, there is no significant differences among students with different cognitive styles. In the environment of the internet collaborative learning, the learning effects among the group of internal locus of control collaborative learning, the group of external locus of control with collaborative learning, and the group of mixing internal-external locus of control with collaborative learning show no significant differences.　This study shows collaborative learning help improve the learning effects of learners with external locus of control, and ease the impacts of cognitive styles on learners. 4. The interaction process of the internet collaborative learning is a cognitive revolution of individual construction, group clarification, knowledge reconstruction, and group reconstruction. In the interaction process of the internet collaborative learning, individuals form self knowledge concepts, and shares their self-constructed sckema with other people. When individual cognitive differences occur, there will be questioning, clarifying, negotiating, reconstructing the knowledge, integratingopinions, and reaching common agreements, which will become the cognitive concepts of the collaborative group. 5. Peer collaborative learning on the internet lacks highly-supportive scaffolding structures. In the context of peer collaborative internet learning, it is easy for students to learn incorrect concepts and incomplete knowledge content, owning to their insufficient prior knowledge and communication skills. Therefore, in designing the internet collaborative learning curriculum for young or incompetent learners, it is a must to involve the teachers to join the discussion and interaction, in order to provide learners highly-supportive scaffolding structures. 6. In the interaction process of the internet collaborative learning, learners with external locus of control have more problem posing behaviors than those with internal locus of control. The study finds that learners with external locus of control have more problem posing behaviors than those with internal locus of control. On the other hand, learners with internal locus of control have more problem solving behaviors than those with external locus of control. Based on the research results, this study proposes the following suggestion for the reference of teachers, educational media designers, education admonitions, and future researchers: 1. Discipline experts, education experts, internet engineers, computer programmers, art designers should cooperate to develop the internet curricula which meet learners' needs more perfectly. 2. Different internet teaching strategies should be provided based on learners' characteristics, in order to make the constructed internet curricula meet learners' needs more perfectly. 3. In the environment of internet collaborative learning, syllabus design should be mainly on discussing situations, sharing knowledge, and solving problems, in order to facilitate collaboration effects. 4. It is better to set the internet interface design standards and evaluation indexes to provide a basis for the internet curricular development. 5. In the environment of the internet collaborative learning, teachers should attend students' discussions when needed, functioning as scaffolding support. 6. National Information Infrastructure should be improved to have higher internet learning quality and thus to enhance learning effects.

The new millennium saw the explosion of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), coupled with the Internet as the way to communicate and gain knowledge. Traditional schooling has moved to open and distance e-learning and many educational institutions are offering these as alternatives. In correctional institutions the education centres have fallen behind in this regard. This dissertation is based on a participatory study that will show how open and distance e-learning can benefit inmates. The researcher has a unique perspective as he is himself, an inmate in a correctional centre in South Africa, and has first-hand knowledge and experience of the correctional institution environment. In-depth interviews with inmates and correctional officers were performed resulting in different views on the subject. A survey was conducted to ascertain inmates’ educational levels and their requirements. This study also determines what role the digital divide plays in the education of inmates or the lack thereof. The research indicates that education can reduce recidivism. With e-learning more inmates could receive education and become better prepared for life outside of the correctional institutions. This could result in them becoming productive members of society. The feedback obtained via interviews shows that the majority of inmates are eager to better themselves. The major problem is financing, and the struggle with communication with the distance learning institution. With e-leaning these two problems could easily be resolved. There are a good deal of educational resources available for free called Open Educational Resources (OER), and communication with the distance institutions can be exchanged via e-mail and/or video-conferencing. A major hurdle that would have to be overcome is to get the government of South Africa behind the drive to implement e-learning. The correctional institutions are the ideal environment to test whether South Africans will be receptive to e-learning. The research in other countries is overwhelmingly positive, and with a successful pilot project e-learning could be shown to be effective in bridging the digital divide / School of Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

Since the inception of AI research, great strides have been made towards achieving the goal of extending natural language conversation as a medium of interaction with machines. Today, we find many Conversational Agents (CAs) situated in various aspects of our everyday life such as information access, education and entertainment. However, most of the existing work on CAs has focused on agents that support only one user in each interactive session. On the other hand, people organize themselves in groups such as teams of co-workers, family and networks of friends. With the mass-adoption of Internet based communication technologies for group interaction, there is an unprecedented opportunity for CAs to support interactive situations involving multiple human participants. Support provided by these CAs can make the functioning of some of these groups more efficient, enjoyable and rewarding to the participants. Through our work on supporting various Multi-Party Interactive Situations (MPIS), we have identified two problems that must be addressed in order to embed effective CAs in such situations. The first problem highlights the technical challenges involving the development of CAs in MPIS. Existing approaches for modeling agent behavior make assumptions that break down in multi-party interaction. As a step towards addressing this problem, this thesis contributes the Basilica software architecture that uses an event-driven approach to model conversation as an orchestration of triggering of conversational behaviors. This architecture alleviates the technical problems by providing a rich representational capability and the flexibility to address complex interaction dynamics. The second problem involves the choice of appropriate agent behaviors. In MPIS, agents must compete with human participants for attention in order to effectively deliver support and interventions. In this work, we follow a model of human group interaction developed by empirical research in small group communication. This model identifies two fundamental processes in human group interaction, i.e., Instrumental (Task-related) and Expressive (Social-Emotional). Behaviors that constitute this expressive process hold the key to managing and regulating user attention and serve other social functions in group interaction. This thesis describes two socially capable conversational agents that support users in collaborative learning and group decision making activities. Their social capabilities are composed of a set of behaviors based on the Social-Emotional interaction categories identified by work in small group communication. These agents demonstrate the generalizability of our methodology for designing and implementing social capabilities across two very different interactive situations. In addition to the implementation of these agents, the thesis presents a series of experiments and analysis conducted to investigate the effectiveness of these social capabilities. First and foremost, these experiments show significant benefits of the use of socially capable agents on task success and agent perception across the two different interactive situations listed above. Second, they investigate issues related to the appropriate use of these social capabilities specifically in terms of the amount and timing of the constituent social behaviors. Finally, these experiments provide an understanding of the underlying mechanism that explains the effects that social capabilities can achieve.

This thesis explores whether dialogue between a company and a non-profit organisation (NPO) can influence a company’s way of working towards being more conflict sensitive. As a case-study I analysed the dialogue between the French oil and gas company, Total S.A. (Total), and the US based NPO, CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (CDA) relating to the company’s operations in Myanmar/Burma. The objectives of the research were to ascertain if dialogue had a positive impact, and if so, what it was about the dialogue that enabled change, what was the process of change that could be observed and how embedded such change was. Drawing on post-modernism, systems thinking and complexity thinking, I have built on organisational change, conflict transformation, dialogue and cross-sector partnership literature to examine the role of dialogue as an enabler of change. While highlighting parallels in the discourses, I analyse the process and degree of change within the company through two conflict transformation models, one by Lederach (1997) and the other by Lederach, Neufeld and Culbertson (2007), which I feel best synthesise these parallels. The research is a longitudinal case-study (2002-2012), based on semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The study adds to the limited academic research on conflict sensitivity in general, and on the implications for a company’s way of working in particular. Although I find that within the business sector, the notion of conflict sensitivity is assumed in the wider concept of corporate social responsibility, noteworthy is the relevance of dialogue in change processes. Dialogue is an essential enabler as it sparks transformational levers also recognised in the literature reviewed. However it is not sufficient. The research illustrates that the dialogue between CDA and Total has played a critical role in facilitating a shift in the company’s way of working, with the contribution of other influences at play. As such, I draw attention to the complexity of the change process and discuss the current nature of the drivers of change within Total.

Improving student outcomes in community college online education requires understanding how institutional practices and student characteristics affect levels of student engagement in online courses. This study investigated community college online student engagement using an ex post facto quantitative methodology, reporting the results of an online survey administered to students enrolled in online courses at four community colleges and one statewide community college online consortium in the fall 2009 academic term. Online engagement levels were measured based on five constructs from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Academic Challenge, Student Effort, and Support for Learners) and a sixth construct from the literature (Presence). The study measured the engagement levels of 906 survey respondents taking classes exclusively online compared with 1,179 survey respondents taking classes both online and on-campus. Differences in engagement levels also were explored in terms of student characteristics including gender, race/ethnicity, age (traditional/nontraditional), enrollment status; experience in online classes, and veteran status. The results of this study revealed the following: Community college online students are less engaged than students taking courses both online and on campus.Enrollment status is a strong predictor of online student engagement; online students enrolled part-time are substantially less engaged than online students enrolled full-time. Experience with online learning is another strong predictor of engagement; as students gain experience in online courses, they become more engaged online learners. Student demographics appear to play less of a role in student engagement online than on campus. Although measurably less engaged, online students scored high on Student Effort, suggesting respondents found courses taught exclusively online required substantial individual effort. Online students are isolated relative to other students and faculty, and are unlikely to reach out to make connections within the college community without assistance. Based on their distinctive experiences and characteristics, online students should be tracked as a unique cohort within community college student populations. This study concludes with recommendations for further research and strategies that community colleges could implement to increase online student engagement, retention, and ultimately success. / text

Afin de comprendre les démarches d'apprentissage des apprenants dans un campus numérique, nous avons focalisé notre recherche sur l'analyse de leurs interactions synchrones en situation tutorale et avec les pairs. L'idée est de rechercher des facteurs pour l'encadrement et le soutien à distance des apprenants qui font face aux problèmes tels que l'isolement, la démotivation et l'incertitude. Bien que les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TICs) soient considérées comme un outil indispensable pour combler la distance, elles ne suffisent pas pour aider les apprenants à persister dans leurs études. Par le biais d'un questionnaire, nous avons découvert les étapes importantes des démarches des acteurs et par la suite, nous avons entamé l'analyse qualitative : nous nous sommes appuyés sur les modèles de Kuutti [96] et d'Engeström [87] au niveau macro et, pour approfondir davantage notre étude, la grille d'analyse Panchoo/Jaillet a su relever la nature des interactions. L'analyse quantitative couplée avec les représentations visuelles ont pu démontrer les tendances diverses dans les réunions synchrones et les comportements des acteurs. Les 84 réunions analysées ont dévoilé qu'il y a davantage d'échanges qui abordent le sujet des règles que de la pédagogie. Ainsi, avec les soutiens adéquats par rapport à l'usage de la technologie, l'environnement éducatif, la stratégie d'apprentissage et l'accompagnement des tuteurs et les pairs, les apprenants ont prouvé être capables et responsables ; ils ont réussi leurs formations en s'entraidant, en coopérant et en collaborant tout en faisant les activités demandées à leurs propres rythmes. Suite à notre recherche, nous pouvons avancer que l'interaction dispensée au bon moment anticipe une démarche proactive des apprenants dans l'apprentissage. / With the aim of studying the learning processes of students in an online environment, we have focused our research on the analysis of their synchronous interactions during tutorial and team work activities, with and without the presence of their tutors. The emphasis is to search for factors which would serve as support to distance education students who face problems such as isolation, lack of motivation and uncertainty. Although the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is considered to be the acquired tool to bridge the distance today, they are not sufficient to help students persevere in their studies. With the help of a questionnaire - survey, we have come up with important learning phases of students, and then we proceeded with the qualitative analysis: at macro level, we made use of Kuutti [96] and d'Engeström [87] models and, to deepen further our queries, the Panchoo/Jaillet methodology has successfully brought to light more details on the nature of those exchanges. The quantitative analysis along with the visual presentations used, showed the various trends that existed in the different online meetings as well as in the behavior of tutors and students. The 84 meetings analysed revealed that the interactions consisted more of rules exchanges than those relating to pedagogy. Therefore, with relevant support such as the use of technologies, the educational environment, the learning strategies and the company of tutors and peers, students have proved to be very capable and responsible; they succeeded in their studies by helping each other, by cooperating and collaborating while doing the requested activities at their own pace. Further to our research, we can deduce that the interactions given at the right time can trigger proactive learning activities of relevant actors.

L’innovation pédagogique pour elle-même s’avère parfois discutable, mais elle se justifie quand les enseignants se heurtent aux difficultés d’apprentissage de leurs étudiants. En particulier, certaines notions de physique sont réputées difficiles à appréhender par les étudiants, comme c’est le cas pour l’effet photoélectrique qui n’est pas souvent compris par les étudiants au niveau collégial. Cette recherche tente de déterminer si, dans le cadre d’un cours de physique, la simulation de l’effet photoélectrique et l’utilisation des dispositifs mobiles et en situation de collaboration favorisent une évolution des conceptions des étudiants au sujet de la lumière. Nous avons ainsi procédé à l’élaboration d’un scénario d’apprentissage collaboratif intégrant une simulation de l’effet photoélectrique sur un ordinateur de poche. La conception du scénario a d’abord été influencée par notre vision socioconstructiviste de l’apprentissage. Nous avons effectué deux études préliminaires afin de compléter notre scénario d’apprentissage et valider la plateforme MobileSim et l’interface du simulateur, que nous avons utilisées dans notre expérimentation : la première avec des ordinateurs de bureau et la seconde avec des ordinateurs de poche. Nous avons fait suivre à deux groupes d’étudiants deux cours différents, l’un portant sur une approche traditionnelle d’enseignement, l’autre basé sur le scénario d’apprentissage collaboratif élaboré. Nous leur avons fait passer un test évaluant l’évolution conceptuelle sur la nature de la lumière et sur le phénomène de l’effet photoélectrique et concepts connexes, à deux reprises : la première avant que les étudiants ne s’investissent dans le cours et la seconde après la réalisation des expérimentations. Nos résultats aux prétest et post-test sont complétés par des entrevues individuelles semi-dirigées avec tous les étudiants, par des enregistrements vidéo et par des traces récupérées des fichiers logs ou sur papier. Les étudiants du groupe expérimental ont obtenu de très bons résultats au post-test par rapport à ceux du groupe contrôle. Nous avons enregistré un gain moyen d’apprentissage qualifié de niveau modéré selon Hake (1998). Les résultats des entrevues ont permis de repérer quelques difficultés conceptuelles d’apprentissage chez les étudiants. L’analyse des données recueillies des enregistrements des séquences vidéo, des questionnaires et des traces récupérées nous a permis de mieux comprendre le processus d’apprentissage collaboratif et nous a dévoilé que le nombre et la durée des interactions entre les étudiants sont fortement corrélés avec le gain d’apprentissage. Ce projet de recherche est d’abord une réussite sur le plan de la conception d’un scénario d’apprentissage relatif à un phénomène aussi complexe que l’effet photoélectrique, tout en respectant de nombreux critères (collaboration, simulation, dispositifs mobiles) qui nous paraissaient extrêmement utopiques de réunir dans une situation d’apprentissage en classe. Ce scénario pourra être adapté pour l’apprentissage d’autres notions de la physique et pourra être considéré pour la conception des environnements collaboratifs d’apprentissage mobile innovants, centrés sur les besoins des apprenants et intégrant les technologies au bon moment et pour la bonne activité. / The educational innovation itself is sometimes debatable but it is justified when the teachers confront the learning difficulties of their students. In particular, some notions of physics are notoriously hard for students to understand, as is the case for the photoelectric effect which is not often comprehended by the students at the college level. This research tries to determine if, as part of a physics course, the simulation of the photoelectric effect and the use of mobile devices in collaborative situations facilitate an evolution of the student’s conceptions about the concept of light. We have proceeded to develop a scenario of collaborative learning by integrating a simulation of the photoelectric effect on handheld devices (Pocket PC). The design of scenario was first influenced by our socioconstructivist vision of learning. We conducted two preliminary studies to complete our scenario of learning and to validate the platform « MobileSim » and the interface of the simulator used in our experiment. The first studies were completed with a simulation on computers and the second with a simulation on Pocket PC. After that, we carried out the experimentation with two groups of students. The control group was assigned to the traditional approach of teaching and the experimental group was assigned to the approach based on the developed scenario of collaborative learning. We have conducted a test twice to assess a conceptual change about the nature of light and about the phenomenon of the photoelectric effect and related concepts. The first test (pre-test) before the students are involved in the course and the second (post-test) after completion of experiments. Our results in the pre-test and post-test were completed by conducting semi-structured individual interviews with all students, by video recordings and recovered traces (on log files or on paper). Students in the experimental group obtained good results in the test compared to those of the control group. We noted an average gain of learning qualified at a moderate level according to Hake (1998). Interview results were used to identify some conceptual difficulties of student learning. Analysis of collected data from video sequences, questionnaires and recovered tracks allowed us to better understand the process of collaborative learning and has revealed that the number and the time of interactions between students are strongly correlated with the gain of learning. At first, this research project is a success in the designing of a learning scenario of a phenomenon as complex as the photoelectric effect and respects many criteria (collaboration, simulation, mobile devices, etc.) that it seemed for us extremely utopian to combine them in an effective learning situation in the classroom. For instance, this scenario could be adapted to the learning of other concepts in physics. It could also be considered for the design of collaborative environments for innovative mobile learning focused on the needs of learners that integrate the technologies at the right time and for the right activity.