OCOWS: Problem-based Learning Software

OCOWS (Online Cooperative Working System) is an on-line didactical software applying the Problem-based Learning (PBL) approach, well known in the educational community. Its essential feature is the incorporation into its unique user interfaces the three working areas:

1. The table of content or the structure of the underlying problem (each topic is assigned to a team member).
2. The editing area for the content development with all functionalities to create or integrate tables, figures, Internet links, video clips, etc.
3. A forum for messages exchanges between the team members. The selection of a topic at the left of the screen leads to the content (displayed at the centre) as well as the corresponding messages at the right.

The teaching strategy applied with this software is the enforcement for participation of the students in the learning process. Moreover, it is convenient and comfortable to use this software in asynchronous mode for homework within one or two weeks. By applying the PBL approach, the teachers don’t have to restructure the whole course's content into "problems" as complained by many of them. What they will need to do is simply select a homework with a reasonable size, then break it down to smaller units, each of which corresponds to an individual work within one or two weeks, or more in the case of a project. PBL is a student-centered learning approach. By using OCOWS, one can carry out the student's cooperation (each of them is responsible of a topic) as well as their collaboration (by sending comment messages to each other) in order to resolve the given problem. The teacher's role is also enhanced by their interventions at any time, if necessary.

Other projects

Examining and Extending Teachers' Understanding of Science Studies

• Public Understanding of Science
• Outreach to Teachers

Understanding the Impact of Technology and Online Learning Studies

• CASMI
• Ethnotechnology
• LogiAuteur
• OCOWS: Problem-based Learning Software

What Happens When We Extend Learning Beyond the School Curriculum Studies

• Ethnomathematics
• Huntsman Marine Science Centre
• Outreach to Students
• Science East
• Students Solving Environmental Problems
• Science-in-Action Project
• Research Intensive Student Experiences