A Collaborative Case Study System for Distance Learning

Distance Learning from Case Studies involves enabling collaboration between two or more learners at a distance on a case study activity. In this paper we present an empirical qualitative study that simulates a learning scenario in which a pair of subjects at a distance are provided with a collaborative learning environment and required to collaborate in order to solve a case study. The results of this empirical qualitative study have implications that informed the design of a system: LeCS (Learning from Case Studies). LeCS is a web-based collaborative case study system that can be applied to any domain in which the learning from case studies method is used. It provides a set of tools for geographically dispersed students working collaboratively on the case study solution. In addition, it accomplishes functions regarding the learning process that together give real-time support to the distant learners during the development of the case study solution. The paper gives a general description of LeCS: its user interface, implementation, and agent-based architecture. Moreover, it describes how LeCS addresses the recommendations derived from the empirical study.