Writing and collaboration are crucial skills in professional and academic settings. However, assessments of collaborative writing often focus only on the final text, overlooking individual contributions and the diverse strategies students employ during the writing process. To support teachers in interpreting and assessing student behaviour, we propose analysing writing data at a granular level, down to individual characters, and using user sessions as observation units to capture coherent interaction patterns. This paper introduces three methods for identifying interaction patterns in collaborative writing. The first method classifies session types by analysing features such as writing, reading, and communication behaviours, session length, and the number of group members collaborating synchronously. The second method identifies frequent sequences of session types by examining their order, enabling process analyses at an abstract yet manageable level compared to using log data. The third method focuses on text-level collaboration by evaluating the frequency of text passage modifications made by the original author or other group members. This approach quantifies individual collaboration and, at the group level, identifies isolated versus closely connected group members, shedding light on the mode of collaboration and degree of group cohesion. We demonstrate these three methods in a case study involving two cohorts, K A = 294 and K B = 242 groups of up to 9 learners (N A = 1, 848, N B = 1, 463). The interaction patterns identified using these methods are intended to help teachers understand collaborative writing processes and identify situations where the participating learners require support.

This paper introduces a novel video learning environment designed for synchronous collaborative learning, a departure from the usual focus on asynchronous activities in such settings. The environment facilitates both loosely coupled and tightly coupled collaboration, encompassing video playback and annotation. It also provides a communication channel for dyads or small groups via parallel video or audio. To enhance collaboration efficiency and reduce non-learning coordination tasks, the environment integrates informal and formal CSCL scripts, specifically tailored for video-based learning. A multi-method user study involving three dyads validated the effectiveness of script-based collaboration and the extensive utilization of video-based resources in learning processes.

Learning Analytics Dashboards (LAD) equip learners with visual insights into their study activities, enabling informed decision-making. This paper introduces a LAD plugin tailored to individual needs to improve distance learners’ skills in metacognition and self-regulation. Through a co-design approach involving focus groups and interviews, students identified desired features like comprehensive resource overviews, deadline tracking, progress highlights, and enhanced interactions with peers and instructors. The final dashboard design allows learners to assess and track their knowledge, progress, and upcoming tasks, with metrics that facilitate comparisons against their goals and provide adaptive feedback. A user study (N=177) confirmed that users are engaged with the dashboard, but the planning and reflection tools were used less than the monitoring tools.