(click
on the logo to visit the webpage)
Introduction
Fle3 is a web-based learning environment for computer
supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and design. Fle3 is designed to
support learner and group centered work that concentrates on creating and
developing expressions of knowledge (i.e. knowledge artefacts).
Benefits for Teachers and Students
The environment is intended for those researchers and
teachers interested in using web-based technology for applying knowledge
building or collaborative design pedagogy in practice.
By the use of
this environment teachers' methods and practices of guiding, coaching, and
tutoring students and the development of their pedagogical thinking in new
learning environments are implemented. Teachers can run different courses;
students can choose to attend any of them by sharing and adding
information and knowledge with their classmates or students from both
other schools and countries.
Pedagogical background
The use of computer-supported learning affects the
development of participants' cognitive competencies, the growth of their
expertise, motivation and commitment as well as the advancement of their
collective knowledge.
This software is based on innovative models of
knowledge creation and shared cognition.
Furthermore, this kind of tool allows the analysis and
exploration of complex mutual relations between individual, socially
distributed, and cultural-historical cognition.
Tools
Fle3 contains three learning tools.
Knowledge building: with this tool students can carry
out knowledge building dialogues, theory building and debates by storing
their thoughts and opinions into a shared database. Knowledge Building is
a discussion environment for a structured knowledge building in groups.
The knowledge building discussion is scaffolded by knowledge types, which
label the thinking mode of each discussion note.
You can see the names and images of all the people that
belong to the same course at the top of any page in Knowledge Building.
Your name is always first in the row. The others that are in the white box
on the left are currently online. You can visit other people's WebTops
from here. You can go directly to the Knowledge Building thread that
interests you by clicking the subject of the starting note from the course
page.
Here you can see the Knowledge building tool
WebTops: you can use this tool with your students to
store different items (documents, files, links, etc.) related to your
studies and organize them to folders and sharing them with others. Each
user gets a personal Webtop.
Here you can see the WebTops tool
Jamming tool: it is a shared collaborative environment
for building digital artefacts (pictures, text, audio, video, etc.). In
jamming you may explore the possibilites of of changing a file (picture,
audio, video, text, etc) by making new versions of the starting artefact
together with others.
Here you can see the Jamming tool
Technical requirements
Fle3 is Open Source and Free Software released under
the GNU General Public License (GPL). The license is protecting users
(teachers, researchers, designers, software developers) freedom to use,
modify and distribute Fle3. Fle3 is easy to localize to different
languages (you have to translate only one file).
Fle3 is a
Zope product,
written in
Python. Zope and
Fle3 run on almost all Operating Systems (GNU/Linux, MacOS X, *BSD, etc.)
and Microsoft Windows.
To use Fle3 you need a computer connected to computer
network. However, a connection to "public Internet" is not a requirement
as it is possible to use Fle3 just in a local area network or Intranet
using Internet protocol.
Target age
Secondary School
Acknowledgements
The above informative material is adapted from the
Fle3’s website.
